In addition to being a job, acting is also an art form. To be specific, it’s a shared experience of a creative expression of the human soul. A good actor doesn’t just act, but instead taps into certain emotions and shares them. You can easily tell a bad actor from a good one when it’s obvious that the emotions portrayed are fake. Likewise, the best actors and actresses out there actually feel their emotions and bleed them on the screen.

Since acting’s an art form, it takes time and effort to truly master the craft. Some actors spend years of their life studying, role-playing, character research, and taking classes and still never reach the limelight of Hollywood. However, other actors are born with natural talent and seem to easily have the ability to transform into their characters without much effort. It seems this is true for great child actors who discover fame at a young age. Today, we are highlighting those child stars who have already made their mark in the actor world.

Christian Convery

Christian Convery in Sweet Tooth
Netflix

Last year, the world was introduced to the lovable, gullible, and innocent Gus, played by Christian Convery in the Netflix show Sweet Tooth. 12-year-old Christian brings innocence and curiosity to the role and since then, the world has fallen in love with this child star. With filming on season 2 officially concluded, we’ll be seeing more of Gus soon. Besides the light-hearted fantasy Sweet Tooth, Christian Convery has acted in other projects like Lucifer (2017), Descendants 3, (2019), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2021). Plus, he’s got a few projects in post-production set to come out soon.

Hala Finley

Hala Finley in Paradise Highway
Lionsgate

While only 13 years old, Hala Finley has already established herself as a force to be reckoned with. Her credits include Grammy (2015), Man with a Plan (2016), Letters from a Father (2017), Back Roads (2018), and several upcoming projects in post-production. For her role as Jody in Back Roads, Hala’s performance was lauded as adorable and heartwarming, providing some much-needed lightheartedness to an otherwise heavy story. Hala stole her scenes as well as the audience’s hearts and gave a performance that was spot-on to her character from the novel of the same name by Tawni O’Dell. Her most recent film, Paradise Highway, may be her strongest work yet; acting opposite Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman, Finley is incredible as a victim of sex trafficking escaping her abusers.

Related: These Are Movies With Great Performances By Young Actors

Mckenna Grace

Mckenna Grace in The Handmaid's Tale
MGM Television

This next actress has already acted in several big projects such as I, Tonya, Captain Marvel, the Annabelle franchise, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and The Haunting of Hill House, as well as others (including a great but brief role as a supporting character in The Handmaid's Tale). With already such a big list of roles under her belt, Mckenna Grace has proven herself to be a name to watch out for in the coming years as she has established herself as a versatile actress, capable of taking on a variety of roles and genres. She brings cuteness and likeability to her characters in almost every performance, along with real emotional intuition.

Madeleine McGraw

Madeleine McGraw in The Black Phone
Universal Pictures

Madeleine McGraw acts alongside Mason Thames in the recent film The Black Phone as his sister, Gwen. In the movie, she has psychic dreams and is determined to use them to help the police find Finney, her abducted brother. She delivers a heartbreaking performance of a sister yearning to get her brother back safely from the clutches of a serial killer, but also brings some hilarious moments and punchy fight to the dark film. Other projects of McGraw's include appearances in American Sniper, Criminal Minds, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. At just 13 years old, Madeleine has already done several big projects and is sure to have a long career ahead of her.

Priah Ferguson

Priah Ferguson as Erica in Stranger Things
Netflix

Priah Ferguson plays the smart-mouth younger sister of Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin) in Netflix’s hit show, Stranger Things. In addition, she has also appeared in several other short films as well as TV shows. The world has become obsessed with Stranger Things and Priah has held her own and delivered a performance comparable to the talented young cast in the show.

Related: Scott Eastwood and Other Children of Famous Actors Who Became Great Actors Themselves

Acting in a sci-fi/horror TV series with fictitious places and creatures is no easy feat but Priah has proven herself worthy to be on the show and perhaps an honorary member of the Hellfire Club. Her character, Erica, is the wisecracking sibling quick to tattle on Lucas but also willing to aid him and his friends in their dire quest to save the world. Upcoming productions include The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022) and My Dad the Bounty Hunter (2023).

Mason Thames

Mason Thames as Finney in The Black Phone
Universal Pictures

15-year-old Mason Thames has only been acting since he was 11, but his lack of experience certainly doesn’t show in his performances. His first big break came in 2019 when he booked the recurring role of Danny Stevens in AppleTV+’s original series For All Mankind. This year, his newest film, The Black Phone, made quite the splash for horror movie fans, performing well at the box office and scoring praise among film critics. Acting in a horror film can be tough as it requires the actor to portray fear, which can be a difficult emotion to tap into. Yet, Mason does it flawlessly and makes acting look easy in what is arguably the headlining role of the film.