But the 12-year-old screen new-comer would do well to bear in mind the equally long line of young stars for whom the pressure  of fame  proved too much.

 

At the age of nine Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin amassed an estimated  £25 million fortune. But just four years on, after a serries of flop movies and his parents custody battle, he dyed his hair blue and refused to act again .

 

There were reports  of drunken parties and at 16 he sued his parents  for the rights of his fortune.

 

At 17  he wed another failed  child star , Rachel Miner. but they later seperated . He is now 21.

 

Judy Garland began in films at seven but it was  The Wizard of Oz that shot her to stardom in 1939, aged 17.

 

She then appeared in  a string of classic films but studio bosses her sleeping pills and barbiturates to boost her energy and trim her weight and soon she was hooked.

 

Her addiction lasted through  her four failed marriages until she took an overdose in 1969 at 47.

 

Drew Barrymore starred in ET at six but by seven she was putting Baileys liqueur on her ice cream. At ten she was partying  on wine and cannabis and at 12 she was snorting cocaine.

 

By 19 she had lived through one suicide attempt, one failed marriage  and a session in rehab. But Drew , now 26 , is a Hollywood  success again.

 

Exorcist star Linda Blair was 14 when she shocked audiences as the possessed child in the 1973 film.

 

But drugs, trouble with the police and several unsteady  relationships almost ended her career.

 

However at 42 she is still making low-key movies.

 

Heart-throb River Phoenix impressed critics in Stand By Me and The Mosquito Coast when he was 16.

 

By 18 he was  nominated for an Oscar for Running On Empty but in 1993, despite a thriving career, he died of an overdose aged 23.

 

Marl Lester played the lead role in the 1968 musical Oliver! when he was ten. By 14 he was making two films a year and earning £100,000 a year.

 

 

Then the roles dried up and at 18 he discovered drink and drugs.

 

In two years the money was gone  and he was in rehab. But at 28 he passed his A -levels and now, at 42 , he runs an osteopathy and acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham.

 

Impish Jack Wild was 15 when he played Oliver's buddy Artful Dodger.

 

Within two years he had his own US TV show. But he also had a drink problem which he did not kick until his mid-30's

 

His marriage broke down and so did his career. Jack, now 48, appears in panto and lives with his actor girlfriend in Sussex.

 

Cory Feldman was 14 when he starred in  Stand By Me in 1986.

 

In the early 90's he was arrested for possessing drugs. He married but was later divorced, put the drug problem behind him and continued making movies but none is very high profile. He is now 30.

 

His namesake and Lost Boys costar Corey Halm, attracted rumours of wild behaviour and drugs.

 

Now 29, many of his subsequent films have gone straight to video.

 

Pretty Heather Ripley was seven when she starred as Jemima in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but then turned her back on movies.

 

She worked as a model, trained as an optician then became an eco warrior. She is now 41.

 

Talented Aileen Quinn played orphan Annie in the 1982 movie but it was her only film triumph. Now 30, she does regular stage work.

 

Peter Ostrum's only film role was at 13, as Charlie in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

 

Now 44, he is married with two kids and works as a vet.

 

Kramer vs Kramer's child starJustin Henry became the youngest-ever Oscar nominee when he was just eight.

 

Now 30, he has sunk into movie obscurity but did appear in a couple of episodes of ERin 1997.

 

Gary Thomas played Peter in1970 film the Railway Children, signed a record deal and appeared in Kids' show Catweazle.

 

Then the parts dried up. He is now 46 and was last heard of working as a furrier in Canada.