Former child actor Justin Cooper recently opened up about the darker sides of growing up in Hollywood during the height of his 1990s fame. Best known for playing Max Reede, the son of Jim Carrey’s character in the 1997 comedy hit Liar Liar, Cooper shared that his early success brought unexpected and unsettling attention.
Appearing on the Not So Little Rascals podcast hosted by Jordan Warkol and Blake Collins, Cooper discussed how public life drastically altered ordinary family outings. He recalled that diners would routinely form lines next to his family’s table at places like Hometown Buffet just to ask for his autograph. While Cooper mostly viewed the attention as cool at just eight years old, other aspects of fame were intentionally kept out of his sight.
Cooper credited his mother with doing an exceptional job of shielding him from the harsher realities of the entertainment industry. Among those hidden realities was disturbing correspondence sent to him by incarcerated individuals.
“She would tell me later on about, like, prison mail that I would get that she never showed me,” Cooper explained during the podcast. He noted that the letters came from people in jail who claimed to be big fans, writing things about him being “such a cute kid.”
In addition to screening his mail, Cooper’s mother maintained strict boundaries on set to ensure his safety. “She never ever left me alone with anybody on set,” Cooper said, contrasting her watchful approach with other child-acting experiences where youngsters were left entirely unsupervised by adults.
As he grew older, the demands of the industry began to lose their appeal. By the time he reached high school, auditions felt less like an opportunity and more like an exhausting chore that cut into his time. After securing roles in various projects including Brother’s Keeper, Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!, and a 2003 episode of The Practice, Cooper decided to step away from acting.
Though his mother was initially surprised by his choice, she supported his decision to leave the spotlight behind. Cooper eventually transitioned into a behind-the-scenes career in sports media, starting with a cold-email internship that ultimately led to his current role as an executive producer at Fox Sports Radio.
