Daniel Stern thinks showbusiness can be "very dangerous" for children.
Daniel Stern thinks showbusiness can be 'very dangerous' for children
The 67-year-old actor is most famous for his role in 'Home Alone' opposite Macaulay Culkin - who was just nine years old when he filmed the Christmas classic - and while he described the former child star as "a wonderful kid", he noted that early fame can be tricky to deal with.
He told People: "Macaulay [was] a wonderful kid and had the pressure of the world on him at such a young age and [he] handled it so brilliantly and was incredible in the movie. That's why everybody's watching the movie, that kid.
"Can you imagine being a 12-year-old kid and people investing that in you? And then living your life? ... I mean, he's managed his life brilliantly.
"It's a very dangerous route for young actors to enter show business because either you are a success and then you're dealing with that, or you're a failure."
The actor - who has Hnry, 42, Sophie, 38, and 35-year-old Ella with his wife Laure Mattos - also starred on 'The Wonder Years' and recalled that he was "really just protective" of the children on set there as well.
He said: " So we had a very caring set on 'The Wonder Years', and I was really just protective. And I'm protective of kids anyway.
"So I didn't make any special effort. I'm just very protective of children in general, but especially on movie sets because the pressure can be enormous.
"I coached all my kids' teams. I taught in their classes. I manned the playground in our community. I was awarded the President's award for — it's called the Call to Service Award for volunteerism. So I loved to give back to the community, and that became a huge part of my life."
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