CNN - 'Sixth Sense' star: 'I do believe'

August 20, 1999
Web posted at: 4:49 p.m. EDT (2049 GMT)

By Jamie Allen
CNN Interactive Senior Writer

(CNN) -- He might appear diminutive on the silver screen, but Haley Joel Osment's acting career is getting larger by the minute. This 11-year-old already has been seen in films opposite two of the most popular actors of this generation.

In "Forrest Gump" (1994), he played Forrest's son, trading lines with two-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks. Most recently, he stars opposite Bruce Willis in the creepy ghost thriller "The Sixth Sense," which has topped the box office the past two weeks.

Osment has also spent a fair amount of time on TV, including parts on "Murphy Brown" as the title character's son, and on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show."

In "Sense," he plays Cole Sear, a boy who possesses the ability to see and communicate with ghosts who don't particularly like how they left life. Osment's character seeks help from Willis' role, a psychologist who believes the boy.

The screenplay was written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It also stars Toni Collette as Cole's mother.

In a recent interview with CNN Interactive, Osment talked about his earlier stardom. In his spare time, when he's not starring in blockbusters, he says he enjoys reading, playing basketball and boogie-boarding in the California surf.

Osment also weighed in on what it was like to work with action-hero Willis, and what it's like to star in a horror film that's currently topping that other summer dread-show, "The Blair Witch Project."

Q: Do you believe in ghosts?

Osment: I do believe, especially after this film. Before I even did "Sixth Sense," I had some interest in the idea, and after this I believe it even more. I've read books on it and I find it all really fascinating and I do believe there are these kind of things out there.

Q: Were your parents concerned about letting you star in a film about ghosts? Most parents try to shield their kids from scary things.

Osment: I don't think they were too concerned. Being in the film isn't actually as bad as watching it, because you know how it all works behind the scenes and it isn't bad for you as an actor. Once you get behind the scenes and you see all the movie magic in it and you see all these people are just normal people in real life and all the ghosts aren't real, it doesn't scare you as much when you're acting in it. It's more of a challenge to get scared, to get frightened in the scene.

Q: How did you prepare for a part that lets you see ghosts?

Osment: It was hard to do that because when you're doing a character you have to bring on experiences in your life and see if they relate to anything the character is going through. And this is especially for someone like Cole (Osment's character), who has such an intense life. I didn't have many terrifying experiences in my life and in all the terrifying moments (in the movie) I had to really believe in being the character and thinking, 'I am Cole.' Once you get to the part that's scary, it will scare you if you believe enough in being the character. Acting is believing.

Q: What was it like to work with Bruce Willis?

Osment: He was nice ... When I heard we were going to be working with Bruce Willis I was really excited. I was going, "Really cool, when I get home I can tell everybody I met Bruce Willis, the big action hero." And then on the set he's just a really nice guy, just such a good person. He treats everyone like an equal. He's always joking around with everyone. He's so nice and funny. I had a great time. He treated me just like a friend.

Q: How was it working with writer-director M. Night Shyamalan?

Osment: He's a great basketball player. He sunk 28 shots with his eyes closed. He's just a big kid. He's really cool.

He had an incredible ability to put such a reality from the words on the script into acting and to make things so real. I think that's one of the scariest parts of the movie, how real it is.

Q: How did you get into acting?

Osment: I decided to do it because of dad (actor Michael Osment). I had always been real interested, sitting on the living room floor watching "The Little Mermaid" every day. When I found out dad was an actor and I was old enough to understand the concept of everything, I wanted to do it. When I was 5-years-old I got the chance.

Q: Has it dawned on you that you're starring in the No. 1 movie at the box office, ahead of "Blair Witch"?

Osment: I'm real excited. I'm just really glad that everyone out there could connect with the film because it's about communication. It has a message in communication and what bad things happen when you don't talk to each other. It was really important for people to connect with that and I'm glad so many people did.