Thomas Horn

During that fortuitous episode, the then-eighth grader was noticed by producer Scott Rudin, who eventually auditioned and then offered Horn a lead role in the 2011 drama "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," based on the 2005 bestseller by Jonathan Safran Foer. In his film acting debut, Horn portrayed Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old inventor and pacifist, Francophile, who sets off on a cathartic journey to unlock the secrets of a key and a missing lock box left by his father (Tom Hanks), who died during the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack. Horn's searing performance in the film won him rave critical reviews and major Oscar buzz. The film also starred Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and John Goodman.By Candy Cuenco