It’s a cold January day when the Oscar nominations are released and, as I sit there taking it all in, I am very much thinking of Oscars past and present. Thinking back to personal favorites over the years like Karen Black in Five Easy Pieces, Jennifer Tilly in Bullets Over Broadway, or Richard Jaeckel in Sometimes A Great Notion to name a few, I begin to realize that something the Academy is lacking in the last decade plus are child actors being nominated, a tradition that has been around in the industry practically since the beginning of the Academy Awards themselves with Jackie Cooper being nominated for Best Actor in 1931 for Skippy (A record for the youngest actor ever nominated in Lead Actor, as he was 9 years old at the time).
The last time a child actor was nominated was the record holder for youngest ever Lead Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis for 2012’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (a performance that Justin and I agree upon and absolutely love). If we’re being 100% honest, Quvenzhane should not have been the most recent with Jacob Tremblay being in 2015’s Room, not only should he have been in Lead Actor he should’ve easily won, but I digress. While I was thinking of all of this I remembered another favorite performance of mine, one that would’ve easily gotten my vote for Best Supporting Actor of 1979, Justin Henry. Nominated for Kramer vs. Kramer, Justin, to this day still holds the record of being the youngest actor of all time in any category to be nominated for a competitive Oscar at the tender age of 8. As I thought about Justin, I realized I had a one degree separation from him as we share a mutual friend, the producer Emily the Criminal, The Land, Take Shelter & Compliance – Tyler Davidson. An idea hit me and I texted Tyler- “Hey man, you’re friends with Justin Henry still, right? Any way you can send him my e-mail address? I’d love to write a piece on him and interview him for the website!” Tyler connected us and the next thing I knew, Justin sent me his phone number and we set a date to sit down to talk, talk about all things life, record breaking/holding Oscar stats, his current feelings on the state of the Academy, his films and so much more.
My name is Joey Gentile and this is my conversation with Academy Award Nominee Justin Henry.
JG: I’m so happy we were able to make this work, first and foremost thank you to Tyler (Davidson).
JH: Yes! Thank you, Tyler!
JG: Anytime I start an interview I like to throw out a fun ice breaker with this question. If you were to look at your resume, is there a character from stage or screen that if a producer came up to you and said “we have an unlimited budget, pick a character you want to revisit with a sequel project” who would it be and why?
JH: WOW! That is a great question! (Beat and a chuckle) Ya know, I would have to say Mike from Sixteen Candles. I’ve always wanted to see where Mike’s life went and what we could do differently and do next with that character. Actually too, a lot of the folks in that movie would be interesting to see sort of what happens to them as they go through life now, but definitely Mike.
JG: Tyler, did you get that? Mike! Let’s make it happen. I’ll write.
(Both laugh)
JG: Diving right in, you’re plucked from obscurity as a child and you’re in a movie like Kramer vs. Kramer and then all of a sudden you’re an Academy Award nominated actor at the age of 8. At that age do you even really understand what that means or the impact of what your life would be after?
JH: I didn’t understand and I don’t really think anyone in our circle did either, not my family for sure. By the time the Oscars happened ya know, Kramer was a juggernaut. We traveled literally all around the world promoting it, it was doing incredibly well at the box office, so everything at that point was kind of out the window. Then at the ceremony it won all these awards, I was nominated and it just sort of added on to what was already a pretty surreal, crazy time in our lives. But yeah, looking at it now as an adult I think the Academy Award nomination and the movie is pretty special.
JG: Absolutely, and you know there’s such a distinct and historic moment that you possibly very much will have as long as the Academy Awards last as the youngest person ever nominated for a competitive Oscar. The record was challenged back in 2012 when Quvenzhane Wallis was up for Best Actress for Beast’s of the Southern Wild, but she had turned 9 by the time that happened.
JH: Oh, she’s so good.
JG: She’s my personal pick to win that year.
JH: She’s so good in that movie, incredible performance, incredible movie, it’s just incredible all around.
JG: Couldn’t agree more, but you also have a distinct milestone with a retired Golden Globe category as you were one of the last actors nominated in it called “New Actor of the Year”. So since Globes come first in an awards season let’s go there. Now I’m gonna cut right to the chase here, there’s a book called Inside Oscar that claims two things about you from that night, the first one being- when you lost that award you had a complete meltdown. Do you recall that?
JH: I’ve heard the story but I don’t remember it and I heard it from Ricky Schroeder of all people but yeah I don’t remember.
JG: I mean just being honest, I’m 33 and if I lost any category I’d have a meltdown so valid if you did.
(Both laugh)
JG: The Globes throw a tie in Supporting Actor to Melvyn Douglas for Being There and Robert DuVall for Apocalypse Now, now the second thing according to Inside Oscar was that there seems to have been some tension from Melvyn Douglas to you with the idea of him having to compete against a child, hence why he didn’t show up to the Academy Awards ceremony. Apparently he found it to be “insulting”. When you hear stuff like that, even now, what’s your reaction?
JH: I don’t think that’s true at all because I saw Melvyn Douglas multiple times around when the Oscars were coming out and he was very, very nice to me. He literally sat me down at a point (and if I recall he was in a wheelchair by then) and he literally said to me “look, I think this award will go to me because I’m old and I’m getting on in age and I’ve been doing this a long time” and as a kid I remember going “yeah, awesome. I get it”. So as a person he was really great and those accounts, hearing that, definitely not 100% accurate. He was always very nice to me and yeah, not true.
JG: There ya go, folks! From a first hand account, Inside Oscar got it wrong!
(Both laugh)
JG: So being so young, being taken all over the world on the promotional tour for the film, even though you realize that it’s all make believe I’m sure I can just see the likes of Meryl Streep and Jane Alexander protecting you during this time in an art meets life styled scenario, no?
JH: Oh, absolutely. We had a great sense of community and family throughout the whole movie and that transcended right into the PR for awards season. A lot of the family protection too came from Stanley Jaffe and Dustin, and of course Stanley Jaffe just recently passed so I would like to thank him because without him you and I wouldn’t be able to have this conversation today.
JG: Absolutely, rest in peace good sir.
JH: But yes; between Meryl, Jane, Dustin, Stanley, really everyone involved in the process, they all made sure to protect me during that time. My own family even did their best and we didn’t know a single thing about the industry as we were from suburbia New England and we all just sort of looked out for each other.
JG: It actually feels really nice to hear that considering when it comes to child stars you usually see/hear the more tragic stories of those who don’t actually look out for you.
JH: Oh, absolutely and I am very fortunate and thankful that never happened with me.
JG: Yes, however something did happen to you and I’d like to get your feelings on it.
JH: Oh?
JG: So many people have said that “you know you have made it when you are parodied on Saturday Night Live.” But are you aware that you were parodied on Family Guy with the mint chocolate chip ice cream scene? And how do you feel about that?
JH: Oh I have friends who write on that show, so it’s a huge surreal moment to see your work from when you were eight years old be a part of the pop culture zeitgeist all these years later. I was even a question on Jeopardy once and I really embrace all of it and I’m not really sure how to state it as a whole but I am grateful that in ways with these nods on shows that the impact of my work still resonates. So in the end my belief is to really just love it, it’s an honor.
JG: So, transitioning from the promo to the pop culture zeitgeist moments to then the big night- the 52nd Academy Awards, the 1979 Oscars on February 25th, 1980. What do you remember of that night?
JH: Hate to say it, but I don’t really remember much of it, you know? And I’ve always wondered if my mind blocked it out, but I do remember sitting down, I remember the little speech I prepared and had written down, I had folded it into my little tuxedo pocket. My whole family was there, my mom, my sister, my grandmother up in the stands, my dad. Meryl’s family was there; it had almost sort of like a wedding feel to it. I do remember feeling very nervous when they started calling the awards. I do remember feeling very relieved when I didn’t get called to win, I was a kid and not having to speak on a stage with glaring lights in front of thousands of people, I mean I definitely remember feeling relief. At that time I had never spoken in front of that many people and honestly thinking back to it I still have not spoken in front of that many people. So for me, it was really more about being there to experience it rather than gaining the accolade of winning. Now what I do remember is that after the ceremony we had to get right back to New York very quickly so I remember running through LAX to catch a flight back to NYC the same night.
JG: So I have a theory regarding films that do really well, whether it’s this past year with Anora literally winning every single nomination except Supporting Actor or even your film, in fact yeah, your film as the example. It wins 5 of the 9 awards it’s up for, winning all the above the line awards it’s up for- Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Writing. There is no doubt in my mind when a movie does that well and then loses one of the above the line awards that the person(s) who lost was second, so Justin I gotta say- there is no doubt in my mind you were easily the runner-up here in your category. (But also as a fan, I wish the Academy would release the tallies after a certain amount of time has passed, but we all know that is never going to happen.)
JH: I hope I wasn’t that close to winning because the talent that year in the category was exceptional. I mean Fred Forrest, wow. (I did a movie with Freddy called Andersonville for TNT. It was a 2 part mini-series on the civil war) But I think there were so many great performances that year that I really don’t care how I did in the voting. Looking back on it now, what a gift and an experience. So whether Freddy, Melvyn, Mickey I mean these guys were legends and I’m literally the new kid on the block. I think it would’ve meant more had I backed it up pretty soon after but I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to do a follow up right away, I wanted to go ride mini bikes and dirt bikes and be an eight year old kid.
JG: Perfect segway into my next question there, sir. Taraji P. Henson famously said in 2016 that after her 2008 Supporting Actress nomination for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that she received zero offers and struggled still to get work despite having achieved such a career moment. Then I’ve heard other actors like my late dear friend Karen Black (rest in peace) who said that after her nomination in 1970 for Five Easy Pieces she got flooded with offers-
JH: Karen was absolutely awesome, I did a movie called Martin’s Day with her in 1985. She was so much fun.
JG: I miss her so much, I always tell people about the amazing voice mails she would leave, but anyway-
JH: I didn’t mean to sidetrack.
JG: For Karen Black, I’ve got all the time.
JH: There truly was no one like her.
JG: Absolutely not a single person like her, when I first moved to LA she took me under her wing. She became my LA mother and I learned so much about the industry from her. She deserved so much better. (Beat) But anyway, you mentioned that you wanted to kick around a ball instead of work after your nomination, but were you on the Karen Black spectrum of the offers or the Taraji P. side of the offers?
JH: I had so many offers, the Karen Black side of the spectrum, so many to be honest that it was absurd if I had said yes that I could even find room in a schedule to do them. Some of them too were so unbelievably bad. So we (Justin and his parents) put it out to the managers and agents quickly that I wanted to have a break and we were not going to pursue anything for quite some time and for some reason it took the industry a while to realize we were serious and it pissed many people off when it came to the higher ups.
JG: I find that fascinating to be honest and know that I mean this next question with zero disrespect but you essentially found yourself in a position that many would kill for, that type of success and job offer after job offer, looking back now- do you feel you squandered what could have been?
JH: Wow! That is a great question, shit! Looking back on it all I feel like I made the right choices at the right time. I didn’t become a child star tragic tale, I got to have a childhood and experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows and I wouldn’t go back to change it at all, so no I don’t feel that I squandered anything.
JG: No regrets.
JH: Absolutely, none.
JG: How about anything you really wanted over the years that you didn’t get?
JH: First thing that comes to mind that I wanted really bad and read for too was Good Will Hunting and then a film called School Ties. Both of those I do look back on and go “goddamn”.
JG: Is it true you were offered the role of Billy Loomis in Scream? I did some really deep digging on you and found your name in a casting binder for possible actors for that film.
JH: No not that part, I was up for the role that went to Jamie Kennedy, Randy. And being 100% honest with you I did not understand that movie when I read it at all, I remember thinking “this might be one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever read” and I passed on it.
JG: Wow! The way you truly live with no regrets, I love it.
JH: It really is the only way to stay true in the business. We love the show, hate the business.
JG: Absolutely. – You’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of Kramer vs. Kramer in the next few years and (how do I put this?). Okay, when I interviewed Janet Suzman for the 50th anniversary of Nicholas & Alexandra she goes “50 years have gone by in such a flash, but now the only difference is I feel ancient”. She was in her 30’s when she made that but you were a mere child when you made Kramer, so are you in the boat of you feeling “ancient” knowing the film is going to be 50 or do you look back and realize the film history you were apart of still goes strong till this day and you can only appreciate it even more now in your 50’s yourself?
JH: I think it’s fucking awesome. I’m 53 ( I think, wait, how old am I?) LAUGHS* I was born in 71, so yeah I’m 54- but it’s awesome. To be a part of such a pop cultural zeitgeisty moment at such a young age that is still impacting people, it’s amazing. I’ve never been a big age person, I’m a healthy guy, I’ve got 3 wonderful kids and when I think more of this question in real time what comes to mind is knowing when my kids were the same age as I was when it all happened, as a parent I cannot fully fathom putting them through all that and I wouldn’t put them through that, for the record. Even though it worked out well for me, I was definitely you know, 1 of 100. It could’ve gone 100 different ways and I’m lucky, I’m extremely fortunate. You know, I look at the films I’ve done and I wonder why something like Tiger Town didn’t resonate with people like Kramer did. Roy Scheider? The dude was AMAZING and I bring that up because while people tell me how much they love one film they also tell me how much they didn’t like the other as mentioned above.
JG: Your film resume isn’t huge by any stretch, but you are the prime example of quality over quantity on your co-stars- Roy (Scheider), Karen (Black), Molly (Ringwald) I mean it goes on and on.
JH: It’s been an amazing career and I hope that, you know, at some point there’s a great project that comes along that I can be a part of and make an impactful contribution to again. I look at what Tyler (Davidson) is doing and I love what he’s doing with them. They’re edgy, they’re genuinely good, I love that. We need more of what he’s doing.
JG: (Like I’m speaking directly to Tyler) TYLER MARIE DAVIDSON (note: not his actual middle name)- you heard the man. I’ll write, you’ll produce, Justin will star. GET THIS SH*T TOGETHER!
(Both laugh)
JH: The movie industry is in a really tough spot right now, TV is making some good stuff but that’s extremely disposable. We need to have films that are going to make an impact, films that truly will stand the test of time and as of late we haven’t really had that. We’ve had films that are “the moment” but nothing that is long lasting. I’m hoping it comes from somewhere because I’m not seeing it right now, it’s a problem that we’ve had for awhile. It’s the problem I’ve had with the projects that have come my way too, ya know? They’re just not something I want to be a part of and then I’m correct in my assumption when I read the scripts, they just become a moment in time and not a long lasting thing. Do I want to make a blockbuster movie? I’m not sure. Do I want to be able to walk down the street and have people point at me? No, been there done that and I’ll tell ya what, Joey- it’s not fun, especially when one is 8 or 10 or 15. So I find myself doing other things. (Beat) – I love the process of making movies, I love the movie zeitgeist, I just cannot stand the business of studio operations and I find myself in this interesting conundrum.
JG: I truly appreciate you being as frank as possible with this interview, it’s a very refreshing take.
JH: Of course. And it’s not even just my enduring love of filmmaking but even the Academy as a whole.
JG: Great segway there. As you know you get many benefits of being a nominee and or winner, including the chance to go multiple times. When I asked Janet Suzman the last time she went she said the year she was nominated in 1971. What about you? When’s the last time you went?
JH: I believe I was there the year The King’s Speech won, so 2010 was when I went last. I have been extremely active within the Academy, voting, screenings, events, all that stuff. But I have stepped away from a lot of that too. I just feel the Academy has kind of lost its way. It’s trying to be all things to all people and in doing that it’s really sort of, I think, making a mockery of itself. And you can directly quote me on that too.
JG: Heard that. – So the voting part was a part of my next question because I don’t know if you’re aware but from the information I was able to find, it was your nomination that caused the Academy to change its rules when it came to a guarantee to be invited in as a voting member. Apparently there was some outrage with the idea that an 8 year old child could vote for “the best”, so a few years after your nomination it was changed that you could get a nomination and be eligible but you weren’t guaranteed a spot like “the old days”.
JH: They don’t do automatic membership anymore?
JG: Nope. An example of this was Quvenzhane Wallis. Her nomination in 2012 happened but she didn’t become a voting member until 2020 I believe.
JH: Wow. I had no clue, that’s nuts.
JG: I’m shocked but also not because if you look at the Academy the entire decade of the 70’s you had yourself, Quinn Cummings, Linda Blair, Marielle Hemingway, Tatumn O’Neill- I mean so many child actors nominated, then it wasn’t until Anna Paquin in 1993 when she won Supporting Actress that another child was nominated after you and Marielle. It’s like the Academy did a complete 180 with children.
JH: That’s actually fascinating and I never really noticed that. Wild.- You know as voting member I always had to remember that making a movie is hard and then making a good movie is even more difficult and as a member of the acting branch you vote for actors in the nominations process but you still have to pay attention to the movie as a whole and when I would vote I would look to see how did the actors serve the scene, how did the editing, how did the music, directing etc. If it stood out to me, that’s what I would vote on. It was always about the craft, never about the buzz, never about what I was “being told” to vote for from the studios, precursors, none of that. All of that are just shiny gold objects that lead to “the” ultimate shiny gold object. It’s about the craft first and foremost and that’s also why I was such a huge fan of the docs, shorts, live action and animation. Those are where I loved to give my time and most effort to, getting those out there to the world.
JG: I love that and couldn’t agree more. It’s always performance and never politics for me. I would be a “terrible” Academy member though. (Laughs)- the example I always give is that if I’m rooting for you to win, you won’t. Let’s take the Best Actress category- from 1960 onward I’ve only agreed with the Academy 6 times on who they’ve given it to, most recent being Olivia Colman in 2018.
JH: Wow.
JG: Yup, the ultimate curse. My buddy Ryan McQuade who is a film critic and I laugh every year cause he’s like “oh you want Pamela Anderson to win everything this year?. Yup, crossing her off”. Trust me when I say I’m self aware of my curse on actors.
JH: It’s what touches you the most and that’s what’s so special about the way you and I and people like us watch movies. It’s what is the most significant and that’s what’s important. And therein lies a big issue I’ve had with the Academy and them losing their way. It’s now more than ever a popularity contest, when they need to be a leader. It never should be about what’s popular but I also know where to give them credit and that credit came from this year with Anora just stunning folks. It felt like people are finally taking part in finding out great movies that aren’t super popular and that’s where the decline in the Academy started was kneeling to popularity. When they expanded Best Picture to 10 nominees that really bothered me, I have to say, because it dilutes the base. Yes, these movies are great and they deserve recognition for being great but it’s an exclusive party and if you invite everybody then what’s the point in going? So that was a part of my issues with the Academy. I am rooting for them though to get it back together, it’s about the craft, making movies and the love of the movies. There needs to be less digital influence, less people from all these websites having access and essentially lobbying voters, I mean I have witnessed this in person. I saw what it was like when it was an industry only to let in bloggers who feel important, craft and nothing more.
JG: Again, your honesty is refreshing in a world and industry where everyone needs to be “politically correct” in the sense of not calling it where it needs to be called. I have said forever that it’s the art and only the art that counts, nothing else.
JH: Exactly. In the digital age too I feel that the Academy has done a good job navigating the rise of digital media and digital movie making. That directly is something I take a big part in and am deeply involved with. I had the first ever digital film festival (more on that in my writer’s notes below). I worked for a company that was the precursor to YouTube and I specialize in digital video distribution and now work with a company that makes most of the systems that make broadcast possible. So it’ll be great to see how the Academy embraces that and pulls it into the craft of storytelling.
JG: Amazing. Kudos to you, sir. So two more questions and we will wrap up here. When I found out I would be interviewing you I hit my socials and asked if anyone had any questions for you that they were dying to know, so this comes from Andrew Carden of Boston. “Do you still stay in contact with Dustin or Meryl?”
JH: I can get in touch with them pretty easily, but we’re not like buddies by any means. Last time I spoke to Meryl was about 8 or 9 years ago and probably about the same with Dustin.
JG: Final question. What is one thing no one knows about you, Justin Henry? Something you’ve never said about yourself in an interview before.
JH: Dustin Hoffman gave me my very first drum set, much to my parents dismay, but I credit Dustin for the love of music I carry now into my adult life because of those drums.
JG: I absolutely love that. Justin, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to sit with me today. To our mutual friend, Tyler Davidson for bringing us together.
JH: Oh man, I love Tyler. We’re both big Phish heads.
JG: Ha! Yeah, he told me that. It was a big connecting point for you too. You know, with your love of music I’m surprised you haven’t been to Cleveland? Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ya know?
JH: Dude! I know! I’ve never been but I need to get there.
JG: If you come out here (I’m sure we’ll stay in touch and obviously because of Tyler) the first round is on me after the Rock Hall.
JH: And next time you’re in LA, let me know. First one on me.
JG: Deal.
WRITERS NOTES:
My time with Justin was absolutely wonderful. Sitting down with someone so self aware of the history making record he still holds in movie history while still being so humble and just a guy you truly wanna have a beer and shoot the shit is so cool to me. Yes, obviously I’m a fan of his work, of movies, of the art of filmmaking but if there is anyone I could recommend just sitting down and talking too, it’s Justin.
I was very fortunate to continue talking with him for almost a half an hour past the end of the interview to get to know him more as a person. We talked about mutual friends, he was genuinely curious about my career as a writer, my upcoming film, what I was doing when I worked for The Viper Room in my early 20’s in Los Angeles and just as me in general as a person.
Some things I want to mention that didn’t make the final edit here of the interview.
-The festival he was speaking about was the Slamdunk Film Festival that ran from 1998-2003. Was founded after a film he was a part of The Junior Defenders didn’t make the initial cut into Sundance.
– This is a man who truly LOVES the art of filmmaking and I sat with his comments for awhile post interview on his thoughts on the state of the Academy and I find it to be so valid, his love of the art and what he champions in the Academy does seem to be fading away to please a popularity contest and I think if you as a reader ever have the chance to sit down with him and talk more you would hear the passion he holds for movies.
– I would like to acknowledge that right before this interview took place that Stanley Jaffe had died and then during the editing process Robert Benton had passed as well. I found myself in the position of texting my well wishes to Justin regarding Benton and turns out I was the one who broke the news to him. Rest in peace to both of these masters of their crafts.
– All the photos (except for the final photo at the Oscars) you see here were given directly from Justin himself.
Justin, I cannot thank you enough again. Looking forward to that drink in not only LA but Cleveland!
