Former child star Jonathan Lipnicki is dissatisfied with the state of his career — but he still has options.
“To be quite honest, I said no to about five movies in the last year,” the “Jerry Maguire” star, 34, shared in a new interview with People, published Wednesday.
Lipnicki admitted that he is relying on his faith to “turn this ship around” so that he lands acting projects that better align with what he wants.
“I pray every night for clarity on where I need to go, and I’m confident the best is yet to come for me,” the “Stuart Little” star continued. “And I think you just have to believe that.”
He added, “If you’re going to pursue this, you’re doing yourself a disservice not to dream big.”
Although he is not completely fulfilled career-wise, Lipnicki said he thinks it’s “totally fine” to think that.
“Everything we’re doing in this life is nearly impossible,” the “Circus Kane” star said.
“This is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life, and I think you just have to believe it’s going to happen and do everything in your power to take action in the right direction.”
Lipnicki recently acted in a TV show titled “The Joe Schmo Show” — where he plays a fictionalized, egotistical version of himself — and he considered that a “step in the right direction,” as it challenged him.
“As an actor growing up in this industry, you want to be on your best behavior, and I got to be on my worst,” he said. “There was something empowering about that in a weird way.”
Lipnicki’s trajectory from child stardom has been a journey. In 2017, he confessed his peers had bullied him because they considered him a “has-been.” He suffered from anxiety and depression as a result.
“I was told I was a has-been and would never book a job again,” the “Little Vampire” star wrote in an emotional post via Instagram at the time.
“I was made to feel like garbage every day of middle school to the point where I had a panic attack every night before school, because I wondered how I would get through the next day.”
He said the mean behavior continued into high school, which he found to be “humiliating.”
However, Lipnicki reflected at the time, “I am grateful for the amazing life I have and I hope I can pass on that it DOES get better.”