Jonathan Lipnicki is ready to show people 'the past is the least interesting thing about me'
Jonathan Lipnicki is ready to take Hollywood by storm (again), but he wants to do it his way.
Lipnicki, 26, made a name for himself as a child actor, starring in films such as Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little, but he took a step back from the industry after his early success. Lipnicki talked with Page Six about how 10 days in Israel changed his life and will affect his career moving forward.
“I worked my ass off as a kid,” he says. “I made a lot of sacrifices to do what I did. … No regrets. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me because I feel like I gained a lot of maturity and knowledge from that.”
Lipnicki continues, “I went through a dip in my career, didn’t work very much, didn’t believe in myself. This is the first time in a while I’m proud to be who I am, and I hope to do a lot of projects in the future, and I’m going to show people that the past is the least interesting thing about me.”
In March, Lipnicki opened up about battling anxiety and depression, which began after he was bullied in middle school and high school because of his fame.
While reaffirming his Jewish faith with Birthright Israel, Lipnicki says he was blown away by the connections he made.
“The life-changing aspects of [the trip] are really finding community with the other people you’re with … seeing their outlook on life despite the circumstances they grew up with there,” he tells Page Six. “They’re such beautiful people inside and out. It gives you a lot of perspective, and I think that’s always something that we are missing now.”
He adds: “It’s a crazy world we’re living in right now in the United States. Everybody is so divided that finding common ground with anyone is always going to lead to something really special.”
A post shared by Jonathan Lipnicki (@jonathanlipnicki) on Jul 28, 2017 at 11:09am PDT
Lipnicki says he’s “always been in touch” with his Jewish identity, but the trip helped reaffirm his beliefs.
“There’s nothing quite like the feeling of when you walk down the stairs that are above the Western Wall and the sun’s going down, and you see all these people dancing and praying,” he reminisces. “It was one of the most incredible feelings I’ve ever had.”
“I was just overcome with emotion, and I was totally not crying,” he jokes.
According to Lipnicki’s IMDb page, his comeback is most certainly underway.
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