Haley Joel Osment

Biography:

Haley Joel Osment was born on April 10, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. His mother, Theresa (née Seifert), was a teacher, and his father, Michael Eugene Osment, worked in theater and film. Both parents were originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Osment was brought up in the Roman Catholic faith and has a younger sister, Emily Osment, who also pursued acting. His parents described his childhood as rooted in traditional Southern values. According to his father, they avoided using baby talk when Haley was learning to speak. During his youth, he was active in sports, participating in wrestling, basketball, football, and golf.

He studied at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, and later graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2011.

At the age of four, Osment was discovered by a talent scout while visiting a store. At his audition, he impressed the judges with a vivid description of an IMAX screen, earning him a role in a Pizza Hut commercial. This marked the start of his acting career. He soon appeared in the TV sitcom Thunder Alley, and played Forrest Gump’s son in the 1994 film Forrest Gump. That same year, he had a small role in Mixed Nuts. Throughout the late ’90s, he appeared in recurring roles on shows like The Jeff Foxworthy Show and Murphy Brown (as Murphy’s son, Avery), and made guest appearances on a variety of series including Walker, Texas Ranger, Touched by an Angel, and Ally McBeal. He also starred in films like Bogus (1996), The Lake (1998), and I’ll Remember April (1999).

Osment rose to fame in 1999 with his role as Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense, alongside Bruce Willis. His performance earned him the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor—becoming one of the youngest nominees in that category. Although he lost to Michael Caine, the two would later co-star in Secondhand Lions. His character’s line, “I see dead people,” became iconic and was ranked #44 on the AFI’s list of 100 Movie Quotes. Osment also voiced characters in Family Guy during 2000 and 2001.

In 2000, he played the lead role in Pay It Forward, and in 2001, starred in Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence, earning him another Saturn Award. Roger Ebert praised his performance, calling him “one of the best actors now working.” He also appeared in Edges of the Lord (2001), and voiced characters in Disney’s The Country Bears, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, and The Jungle Book 2. In 2003, he starred in Secondhand Lions.

Osment lent his voice to the protagonist Sora in the video game Kingdom Hearts in 2002 and voiced a character in the anime Immortal Grand Prix in 2003. He later appeared in the film Home of the Giants and produced and starred in Montana Amazon, which premiered at the Orlando and Big Apple Film Festivals, winning Best Feature Film at the latter.

In 2008, he made his Broadway debut in American Buffalo, portraying Bobby, a young heroin addict. Despite a strong cast, the show received mixed reviews and closed within a week.

Osment starred in the comedy Sex Ed in 2010 and joined the cast of Sassy Pants in 2011. That year, he was announced to star in Wake the Dead, a modern version of the Frankenstein tale.

In 2013, he joined the cast of Amazon’s Alpha House, and later appeared in IFC’s The Spoils of Babylon and The Spoils Before Dying. He also featured in Kevin Smith’s films Tusk and Yoga Hosers, portraying unique and offbeat characters.

He appeared in the 2015 film adaptation of Entourage, and in 2016, starred in Almost Friends. In 2017, he had a recurring role as VR expert Keenan Feldspar in HBO’s Silicon Valley, and guest-starred in Top Gear America. He acted in Izzy Gets the Fck Across Town* (2017) and Clara’s Ghost (2018).

In 2019, he had a supporting role in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring Zac Efron and Lily Collins. More recently, he starred in Somebody I Used to Know (2023) and had roles in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-produced series such as The Boys (as Mesmer) and Future Man (as Dr. Stu Camillo).

He continued voice work, playing Kash D. Langford in Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (2021), Buzzsaw Burne in DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021–2023), Casey Jones in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022), and the Collector in LEGO Marvel Avengers: Code Red (2023).

Outside of acting, Osment plays guitar and piano and is a passionate golfer. He began playing at age seven and represented the U.S. team in the 2005 All-Star Cup, and has participated in celebrity golf tournaments.

In 2006, he was involved in a car accident that left him with a fractured shoulder blade and broken rib. He later pled no contest to DUI and drug possession charges, receiving probation and mandated rehab and education.

Osment enrolled at NYU in 2007 and graduated in 2011.

In January 2025, his Altadena home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, part of the Southern California wildfires. In April 2025, he was arrested at a ski resort in Mammoth Lakes for public intoxication and possession of cocaine. While in custody, he was caught on camera using antisemitic slurs toward a police officer, an act for which he later issued an apology. He was released and is scheduled for arraignment in July.