Former child actor Justin Cooper says his mother shielded him from letters sent by prisoners after his childhood roles brought him widespread attention.
Cooper, now 37, discussed his early career with Jordan Warkol and Blake Collins on The Not So Little Rascals podcast. He said his mother filtered mail and closely supervised him while he worked on film and television sets.
Some letters came from inmates who wrote that they were fans of Cooper and praised his appearance as a child. His mother did not show him the correspondence then.
Cooper began acting at age four and later appeared in Liar Liar, Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! and Brother’s Keeper.
He recalled that his mother rarely left him alone with anyone on set. Her protectiveness extended to confronting comedian Don Rickles over his language while they worked on Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!.
Public attention increased sharply after Liar Liar was released in 1997, when Cooper was eight. “I couldn’t really go anywhere in public,” he said.
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Cooper remembered enjoying the recognition at the time, although frequent autograph requests could make family outings difficult.
Justin Cooper says his mother shielded him from letters sent by prisoners and other unwanted attention after Liar Liar made him widely recognisable as a child.
