Justin Henry
{{short description|American actor (b. 1971)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Justin Henry
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Justin Henry
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|5|25|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Rye, New York, U.S.
| occupation = Businessman, actor
| years_active = 1978–present
| known_for = Billy Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
}}
Justin Henry (born May 25, 1971) is an American actor and businessman, known for playing Billy Kramer in the 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer, a debut role which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination at just eight years old. To date, he remains the youngest Oscar nominee in any category. The performance later earned him a spot (No. 80) on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Kid Stars. Most of his film and television credits came as a child or teenager, although he has continued acting as an adult.{{cite news| url=http://emol.org/newclub/garycoleman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928030030/http://emol.org/newclub/garycoleman| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 28, 2011| title=VH1 Names Gary Coleman the top of the 100 Great Kid TV Stars| journal=Entertainment Magazine| date=August 6, 2009| access-date=2010-07-27}}
Early life and education
Justin Henry was born in Rye, New York, the son of Michele (née Andrews), a real estate agent, and Clifford Henry, an investment adviser.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/29/Justin-Henry.html|title=Justin Henry Biography (1971-)|website=Film Reference}} He was educated at Brunswick School, an all-boys college-preparatory private day school located in Greenwich, Connecticut, followed by Skidmore College, a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he earned a B.A. in psychology in 1993.{{cite news| url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/31829/Justin-Henry/biography| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020120130/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/31829/Justin-Henry/biography| url-status=dead| archive-date=2012-10-20| department=Movies & TV Dept.| work=The New York Times| publisher=Baseline & All Movie Guide| author=Jason Buchanan| date=2012| title=Justin Henry Biography| access-date=2009-02-14}}
Career
=Acting career=
Henry began his acting career in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), which was released to widespread praise and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. For his performance as Billy Kramer, a young boy dealing with his parents' separation, he was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor (making him the youngest person to ever be nominated for an Academy Award or Golden Globe) and won the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film.
His next role was in a 1983 episode of the American television series Fantasy Island.{{IMDb name|id=0377888}} On the big screen, Henry appeared in the Brat Pack film Sixteen Candles (1984), as Mike, one of main character Samantha's siblings.{{cn|date=December 2024}} Henry also played the son of a married couple played by Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon in the film Sweet Hearts Dance (1988). In this role, critic Janet Maslin called him a "large and amusingly sullen teenager".{{cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE4DB173DF930A1575AC0A96E948260 |title=Love and Unhappiness in Sweet Hearts Dance |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 23, 1988 |access-date=2020-02-02}}
After graduation, Henry's next widely seen performance was in 1997, as a medical student in a two-episode role during the fourth season of ER. He starred opposite Ally Sheedy, Jason David Frank and Brian O'Halloran in the mockumentary The Junior Defenders, which was filmed that same year but released direct-to-video in 2007.{{cite journal |url=http://www.viewaskew.com/interviews/briano2.html |title=Interview with Brian O'Halloran |journal=View Askew |date=February 2, 2020 |first=Mike |last=McCarthy |access-date=2009-02-14}}
=Business career=
Henry co-founded the Slamdunk Film Festival in 1998.{{cite web| url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/cannes_2001_attention-getting_slamdunk_slamdance_streaking_and_a_sandwich_b/| title=CANNES 2001: Attention-Getting? Slamdunk, Slamdance, Streaking, and a Sandwich Board| publisher=IndieWire| date=May 15, 2001| access-date=2020-02-02}} He continues to make occasional appearances in film and television.
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Film |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1979
| Billy Kramer | |
| 1983
| Alex | |
| 1984
| Mike Baker | |
| 1985
| Martin | |
| 1985
| | |
| 1988
| Kyle Boon | |
| 1996
| Tyce | |
| 1997
| ER | Med Student James Sasser | Season 4 Episodes 4 and 5 |
| 2003
| |
| 2003
| Prescott | |
| 2004
| Lost | Chester Gould | |
| 2007
| Jimmy Fletcher | |
| 2008
|Dr. Rafe Castle |Season 1 Episode 2 |
| 2010
|Dr. Lewis |Season 4 Episode 21 |
| 2014
|Caine | |
| 2019
|Himself |"The New On Cinema Oscar Special" special |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Organization !Work !Category !Result !Ref. |
| rowspan="5" |1980
| rowspan="5" |Kramer vs. Kramer |{{Nominated}} |
| David di Donatello Awards
|{{Won}} |
| rowspan="2" |37th Golden Globe Awards
|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |{{Nominated}} |
| New Star of the Year – Actor
|{{Nominated}} |
| 2nd Young Artist Awards
|Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film |{{Won}} |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 386-387.
External links
- {{IMDb name|0377888}}
{{Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Justin}}
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:Actors from Westchester County, New York
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Brunswick School alumni
Category:Male actors from New York (state)