Oakes Fegleybegan his career at a very young age and has quickly become one of the most notable child actors in TV or movies, and he isn’t slowing down as he enters young adulthood. Born on July 06, 2025, in Allentown, PA, Fegley was only seven when he first appeared in the short filmGlassas an unnamed boy. His first professional acting job came in 2014, at the age of ten, when he appeared in the military drama,Fort Bliss, as Paul Swann. Since that time, he’s gone on to star in several critical and commercially successful productions.
Oakes Fegley is the rare young star who did not spend a lot of time either in a children’s or teen’s sitcom nor spent years as minor characters in larger productions. As soon as 2016, Fegley wasleading a Disney live-action adaptationofPete the Dragon, and rarely since, has he not been a part of a TV show or movie’s main cast. Even at such a young age,he has a knack for holding the screen. He can be alone on camera and can act opposite some of the greatest actors ever. Whether in a science fiction TV series or a magical biopic, Fegley can fit right in.
Boardwalk Empire
Cast
Based on Atlantic City in the 1920s and 1930s, Boardwalk Empire follows political heavyweight “Nucky” Thompson as he battles mobsters, politicians, government agents, and the common folk who look to take him on. Now, with the federal government cracking down on bootlegging and other illegal activities, and everyone looking to take over control of the city, Nucky’s lavish lifestyle is in danger of collapsing.
Boardwalk Empirewas one of the first modernTV shows to take an interest in the early 20th century,focusing on the fictional Nucky Thomspon (Steve Buscemi), the most powerful man in Atlantic City and a bootlegger and racketeer. Featuring an expansive ensemble cast,Boardwalk Empirecovers fake and real events from the era. Nucky’s muscle in the series is his brother, Eli Thompson (She Whigham), the sheriff of Atlantic City.
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In three flashback episodes, a young Eli Thompson is shown, played by Oakes Fegley. The young Eli was the favorite of his parents and so managed to avoid the alcohol-fueled beatings of their father. It’s never easy to play a younger version of another actor’s character, much less someone so young, but Fegley channels the older man eerily well. There’s no doubt who the young boy is supposed to be when he strides into the scene.
The Goldfinch
Based on the best-selling novel by Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch follows the life of Theodore Decker, beginning with the day that his mother is killed in a terrorist attack while the two of them are visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the chaos after the attack, Theo steals a painting from the museum, Carel Fabritius’s The Goldfinch, and manages to get away with taking the painting because of the damage to the museum. The film follows Theo through young adulthood, and how his mother’s death and the painting affect the course of his life. Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley star as Theo, alongside Finn Wolfhard, Jeffery Wright, and Nicole Kidman.
The Goldfinchis told in two parts. The first finds a young 13-year-old Theodore Decker (Oakes Fegley) witnessing his mother get killed in a terrorist bombing, while the second part takes place 8 years later. After his mother is killed, Theodore is sent into foster care, where he eventually starts taking drugs and alcohol, as well as gambling to mask the pain of his mother’s death, for which he believes himself responsible.
The film itself does not always work as well as one might like, but Fegley’s performance is great and deeply difficult for such a young actor.
The film itself does not always work as well as one might like, but Fegley’s performance is great and deeply difficult for such a young actor. Once again, Fegley manages to channel an older actor, this time, Ansel Elgort. It’s a moving performance from Fegley, who sells Theodore’s pain and sadness while keeping him naive to some of the bigger questions in the story, as he is a young boy.
Person of Interest
In this sci-fi crime drama, a wealthy programmer named Harold Finch has developed a surveillance AI that can predict terrorist acts and identify civilians involved in impending crimes. With former CIA operative John Reese, he hopes to use this technology, dubbed “the Machine,” to stop crimes before they happen.
Person of Interestis a science fiction crime drama that follows reclusive tech billionaire, Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), a man who created a computer program called, “the Machine” that has an impressive, and unnerving, ability to collate enough data that it can predict terrorist attacks. However, when the program begins predicting much more mundane crimes, the NYPD decides to use it to stop crimes before they even occur, raising some moral questions.
Oakes Fegley appears in three episodes of the series as Gabriel Hayward, the human face of the Samaritan AI, a sinister artificial intelligence that was built to compete with the Machine. Gabriel is a young genius computer programmer who replaced John Greer (John Nolan).Fegley plays the young boy as precocious and charming, which makes his total obedience to the authoritarian Samaritan all the stranger.
The War With Grandpa
The War With Grandpa is a family comedy film released in 2020. Directed by Tim Hill, the film stars Robert De Niro as Ed, who moves in with his family, leading to a comical conflict with his grandson Peter, played by Oakes Fegley. As Peter is forced to give up his room for Ed, he declares war to reclaim his space, resulting in a series of pranks and hilarious attempts to gain the upper hand.
Oakes Fegley goes up againstAcademy Award-winning actor Robert De NiroinThe War with Grandpaand the chemistry between the two is the best part of the film that sometimes feels like it’s spinning its wheels. The film stars De Niro as Ed Marino, an elderly widower who moves in with his daughter and her family. Specifically, he’s moved into his grandson Peter’s room, forcing Peter out, much to his annoyance.
Not liking one another, the two agree to a war with the rules being they can’t damage other people’s belongings, and they can’t tell anyone. What ensues is a creative prank war that slowly bonds Grandpa and grandson. The lengths they each go to beat the other is very funny, and watching the pair slowly warm up to one another is even tearjerking at moments.
The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans is a film loosely based on the life of a young Steven Spielberg, with Gabriel Labelle playing the role of 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman. Fictionalizing but treading essential moments in the director’s life, The Fabelmans is set in the 1960s with the titular family moving from New Jersey to California, where a dark secret begins to cause the life of young Sammy to unravel. To escape the reality he’s faced with, he turns to films and reinforces a new dream - the aspiration of becoming a filmmaker. The film allows the director and the audience to look back on the past and try to understand the motivations of family members' various actions by contextualizing them through the lens of film.
The Fabelmansis Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama about a young boy, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), who is also a stand-in for Steven himself. Throughout the film, Sammy explores how cinema can teach him the truth about the world around him, specifically, the reality about his loving, but dysfunctional family. Sammy is not the most popular kid at his high school and is frequently targeted by a bully, Chad Thomas (Oakes Fegley).
When Sammy finally screens one of his films for his class, the story contains a thinly veiled Chad-character who is vilified in the film. When Chad goes to fight Sammy, he’s met by the classmates who enjoyed Sammy’s film, and he’s scared off. Fegley usually only plays heroic or kind-hearted characters, so his turn inThe Fabelmansis unexpected, but he handles the material well, and the part showcases some more range of the actor.
Dark Matter
Dark Matter (2024): Jason Dessen is thrust into an alternate reality where he must confront an ominous version of himself. His quest to return to his original life leads him on a challenging journey to reunite with his family, navigating the complexities of parallel existences.
The Apple+ sci-fi seriesDark Matterfollows a Chicago physicist, Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), who is transported into an alternate reality with different versions of everything in his life. Now in this new world, he must return to his old universe before the other Jason takes over his life and family. The series is filled with interesting questions about fate, parallel universes, and the nature of reality, making for a heavy but rewarding watch.
Oakes Fegley plays Charlie Dessen, Jason’s son, and he soon realizes that there is something up with this new Jason who has suddenly appeared in his home. For the most part,Charlie is only developed so much as Jason’s relationship with him, but he still has ample screentime in a major streaming original series. WithDark Matterseason 2 on the way, Charlie is sure to get a much deeper exploration in the coming episodes.
Accused
Accused is a legal drama series that delves into the complexities of criminal cases from the perspectives of both the accused and the accusers. Each standalone episode presents a new case, exploring the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the characters involved. The series aims to offer a nuanced portrayal of the criminal justice system, highlighting the intricacies and challenges inherent in each case.
Accusedis a crime drama anthology with each new episode taking place in a courtroom and following a new case. Audiences are led to the courtroom by the remembered events of the defendant. In the first episode of the series, Oakes Fegley plays Devin Harmon, a troubled young man who is suspended from school for threatening another student. His father, Scott (Michael Chiklis), worries his son will commit an act of mass violence when he finds Devin’s diaries filled with vengeful fantasies.
Particularly in the current era, playing this kind of character could go very wrong, but Fegley finds a balance between having empathy for his character and understanding the turmoil inside him.
Scott’s worries prove founded when Devin returns to his high school with a gun and holds the students hostage. Scott tries to talk his son down, but Devin angrily blames his father and takes his own life. After hearing the story, the judge dismisses all charges against Scott. Fegley imbues a dark and unlikable character with a huge amount of emotion. Particularly in the current era, playing this kind of character could go very wrong, but Fegley finds a balance between having empathy for his character and understanding the turmoil inside him.
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck, directed by Todd Haynes, intertwines the stories of a boy in the Midwest and a girl in New York from fifty years ago, as both children embark on a quest to uncover a shared mysterious connection.
InWonderstruck, two stories are woven together. One is set in 1927 and follows a young, deaf girl, Rose (Millicent Simmonds), who runs away from her father’s home to seek out her mother, a famous actress, Lillian Mayhew (Julianne Moore). The second story takes place in 1977 and follows the newly orphaned, Ben (Oakes Fegley), who is made deaf by an accident. Like Rose, he also runs away, but he intends to find his father.
Millicent Simmonds, best known for playing Regan inA Quiet Place, is legally deaf.
A difficult and moving performance, Fegley is heartbreaking as a young boy who loses one thing after another and can’t seem to catch any sort of break. It’s a very emotional journey and Fegley has to shoulder half that burden and does so playing a deaf character, another level of difficulty for the young actor.Wonderstruckis a mature and magical picture that needs someone with Fegley’s gravitas and innocence to make work.
As the titular character inAdam the First, Oakes Fegley is often on-screen alone for much of the film, and when he’s not, he’s engaging in heartfelt and serious debates with some incredible older actors, and he holds his own. InAdam the First, Adam is a 14-year-old boy who sets off across the United States to meet with a series of men who may or may not be his father. It’s a moving portrait of love, empathy, and resilience in the face of multiple failures.
Fegley has one-on-one conversations with David Duchovny, Larry Pine, and more as he travels across the U.S. and not once does it feel like he is being out-acted. It’s a mature, impressive performance from the young actor.His nervousness and humility make him feel like a true child, but his relentlessness in tracking down his family is powerful and enough to elicit plenty of tears.
Pete’s Dragon
Pete’s Dragon is an action-adventure fantasy movie that takes the classic Disney film and reimagines it for a new era. The story follows young orphan Pete and his best friend Elliot, a massive green dragon who lives in a forest in the Pacific Northwest. When a forest ranger’s daughter happens upon the young Pete, she discovers the stories surrounding the dragon line up with recent incidents, leading her to search for the truth while trying to find Pete’s origins.
What was even more unexpected thanPete’s Dragon, a solid but mostly forgotten Disney animation, being adapted into live-action was just how successful it ended up being, both critically and commercially. With an 88% onRotten Tomatoesand $144 million at the box office (viaBoxOfficeMojo),Pete’s Dragonis one ofthe most well-received of all the Disney live-action adaptations. Some even consider it one ofthe best remakes of the 2010s.
As the titular “Pete”, Fegley no doubt had a huge hand in why the film works so well. Fegley is incredibly vulnerable as the young, orphaned boy and his relationship with the visually dazzling dragon is heartwarming and honest. It’s a sincere film and one that needs an actor as sincere asOakes Fegley. He never winks at the camera or goes over the top. He places himself perfectly into the story.
