PHOTOS: Young Actresses on the Edge

AGENTS/MANAGERS Although ICM partner Wiles' client list doesn't focus exclusively on teen talent, some of her most successful clients also happen to be the youngest: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Daniel Huttlestone, Onata Aprile ("What Maisie Knew"), Jared Gilman ("Moonrise Kingdom") and Willow Shields ("The Hunger Games"). "The folks I work with, whether they're 9 or 99, are material- and director-oriented. Something that's challenging and scary is the right project for them. Kodi was always made for those roles; he is that deep an actor," says Wiles, who sees no limitations to what her clients can accomplish. "You don't have parameters about what a client is today, but what is possible."

("The Bad Seed") By the time 10-year-old McCormack lensed her part as pint-sized serial killer Rhoda Penmark in 1956's "The Bad Seed," she was already something of an old hand at setting Henry Jones on fire, having essayed the role on Broadway since 1954. She earned an Oscar nomination for her trouble, and enjoyed a long career, sans tap shoes, afterward.

("Lolita") Lyon was only 14 when she was cast as "nymphet" Dolores Haze in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita." Though the film toned down the novel's pedophilia themes significantly, its iconic poster depicting Lyon with a lollypop was certainly lurid, and she followed the role with yet another eyebrow-raiser in "Night of the Iguana."

("The Exorcist") While casting 1973's "The Exorcist," director William Friedkin was concerned that preteen applicant Blair might be too young to handle the intense grotesqueries inflicted on her Satanically possessed character. Friedkin asked her if she knew what masturbating was, and when she replied in the affirmative, he asked her if she had ever done it. "Yeah, don't you?" was the 12-year-old's reply. She got the part.

("Taxi Driver") Thirteen-year-old Foster had already been appearing in films for 10 years when she was cast as Iris, the underage prostitute violently rescued by Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver," and her experience paid off handsomely. More than holding her own in scenes opposite Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, Foster garnered an Oscar nom for the role, which helped spring her into a rich and varied adult career.

("Pretty Baby") The 1970s was truly a banner decade for cinematic depictions of child prostitutes, yet none stirred as much outrage as Louis Malle's 1978 film "Pretty Baby," which featured the 12-year-old Shields in the nude. The actress found her Lolita image tough to shake, and she was featured in an equally controversial Calvin Klein ad at the comparably senescent age of 14.

("Leon: The Professional") It was a testament to the precocious acting talent of then-13-year-old Portman that her role in "Leon: The Professional" didn't seem nearly as creepy as perhaps it should have. A vengeance-minded orphan taken in by Jean Reno's hitman, Portman's character attempts to seduce him in between learning the finer points of contract killing. Things could have been worse, though: at least he convinces her to quit smoking.

("Interview With the Vampire") Countless young actors have been asked to play characters wise beyond their years, but at age 11, Dunst tackled the task more literally than most in "Interview With the Vampire." As a young girl transformed into a vampire at age 12, Dunst had to convey all the traits of a murderous, lascivious 40-year-old from beneath her cherubic exterior, crafting a character of truly unnerving creepiness.

("Kids") Larry Clark's unrated 1995 shocker "Kids," which depicted a ragtag group of teens who lazily pass the day drugging, screwing and mass-AIDS-contracting, now feels like a product of its era, as the mock-indignant director captures the "real" behavior going on behind parents' backs. Even so, then-19-year-old Sevigny and then-16-year-old Dawson's star turns have lost none of their provocative power.

("Hard Candy") An alarmingly large number of teenage actresses have portrayed victims of sexual abuse over the years, but prior to her breakout role in "Juno," Ellen Page managed to turn those tables with her part in 2005's "Hard Candy," in which the 15-year-old viciously torments a would-be predator after he's lured her into his house.

("The Poker House") Lawrence showcased a wealth of verve and maturity in her star-making turn in 2010's "Winter's Bone," yet she'd already tested those abilities with an even tougher part in Lori Petty's 2008 semi-autobiographical directorial debut, "The Poker House," in which the 18-year-old portrayed a teenager struggling to escape life in the brothel where she's being raised.

The 21-year-old got her start on ABC sudser "All My Children," and also had key roles on MTV's U.S. "Skins" reboot and on the final season of "Gossip Girl." Still relatively unknown, Black-D'Elia is filming a key role in "Almanac" -- Paramount's Michael Bay-produced found-footage time-travel project -- and wrapped the independent action thriller "Born of War," which has been screening in film markets since Busan.

As other young actresses have found, landing the role of twins can be a big break for a rising star. That's in the cards for Cameron, who will play identical sisters in the upcoming Disney skein "Liv & Maddie," the latest effort from "Hannah Montana" shingle It's a Laugh Prods. The cabler is so bullish on Cameron and her new show, they picked it up straight to series without even shooting a pilot. The actress also stars as a prima donna snowboarder in the Mouse's made-for "Cloud 9."

Straight out of the gate at age 9, Canterbury revealed his knack for playing mature roles, embodying a reverse-aging 77-year-old in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." He also starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Summit's "Knowing." Other credits include Stephenie Meyer adaptation "The Host" and "Repo Men" alongside Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. Canterbury can next be seen in "When Angels Sing," a yuletide pic that debuted at SXSW in March.

At a time when so many of Chicago's upcoming emcees seem sadly caught up in the city's nightmarish gang warfare, 20-year-old Chance the Rapper provides a welcome sunny antidote. On the strength of two stellar mixtapes, Chance has won raves from both Pitchfork and the L.A. Times, and he'll make his festival debut at this summer's Lollapalooza. Thoughtful, funny and literate, Chance's music most recalls early Kanye West -- way back when Kanye was still a likable Everyman who rapped about working at the Gap.

It would be ungenerous to suggest that the role of Arbor, the angry young hero of Clio Barnard's "The Selfish Giant," wasn't much of a stretch for then-12-year-old British thesp Chapman. Hailing from the Bradford housing estates where the tragic drama unfolds, Chapman drew much of the praise for his ferocious lead performance in the Cannes Directors' Fortnight discovery. He'll next be seen in the Channel 4 period drama "The Mill," premiering July 28.

A standout of this year's American indie festival circuit, 16-year-old Dever has a small part in Sundance competish title "The Spectacular Now" and a pivotal role as a troubled teen in "Short Term 12," which earned SXSW's grand jury and audience awards. Other credits include "Bad Teacher," "J. Edgar," and "Cinema Verite." Next up is Lynn Shelton's dark comedy "Laggies" alongside Keira Knightley.

After an Off Broadway run in last year's "Regrets," 19-year-old Elgort will appear in a trifecta of anticipated adaptations: Kimberly Peirce's "Carrie" reboot, next-big-thing dystopian thriller "Divergent" and teen swooner "The Fault in Our Stars." A writer, artist, musician and actor, Elgort benefits from a Gotham pedigree (dad's a fashion photog, mom directs operas), a prestigious arts education (LaGuardia High) and leading-man looks (he's 6'3" with perfectly tousled hair and piercing brown eyes).

The star of Nickelodeon's supernatural sitcom "The Haunted Hathaways," the young actor-rapper (who turns 11 on July 24) goes by the handle "Lil P-Nut" and holds the winning title for numerous local talent showcases, where he grabbed the attention of host Ellen DeGeneres. Flores became an Internet sensation after appearing on her talkshow twice. His repertoire includes several commercials and musicvideos, where he's worked alongside Three 6 Mafia.

Griffith, 14, got an early lesson in filmmaking from Clint Eastwood when he played Angelina Jolie's son in "Changeling." "He taught me that more takes doesn't make it a better movie," Griffith told Variety in 2009. "Now that I've worked in a couple of more movies, I use that. It really does help." The oldest of four brothers, Griffith next shares the screen with Kate Winslet in Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" for Paramount.

The 11-year-old actress began her career as a model, appearing in several national commercials before landing her role in the Disney Channel sitcom "Jessie." While the show was on hiatus, Jackson shot two movies, playing Dwayne Johnson's daughter in "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and a survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in "The Watsons Go to Birmingham," airing on the Hallmark Channel's Walden Family Theater this fall.

The 16-year-old star of Fox Searchlight's "The Way Way Back" was among the more buzzed-about breakouts of this year's Sundance Film Festival. Jamesbegan acting at age 9 in his native Vancouver, where encouragement to pursue bigger roles led to a series regular role on "The Killing." He has also appeared in Roland Emmerich's "2012," played James Roday's younger self in USA's "Psych" and acted opposite Vince Vaughn in "Fred Claus."

This summer, Jerins made a strong impression as Brad Pitt's frightened younger daughter in zombie-uprising blockbuster "World War Z," and got even more freaked out in James Wan's "The Conjuring." The 8-year-old actress also has two indie features in the can, "Lullaby" and "Butterflies of Bill Baker," as well as a significant role in Rob Reiner's "And So It Goes." Next, she is attached to political thriller "The Coup" with Owen Wilson.

He may be fresh outta high school (which perhaps explains why his stage name so closely resembles a 10th-grader's Xbox Live handle), but this 18-year-old New Yorker has built up enough momentum in the rap world to make post-graduation planning a breeze. Recent months have seen Badass score a guest spot on ASAP Rocky's No. 1 January album, a place on XXL's Freshman 10 and a set at Hot 97's zeitgeisty Summer Jam concert. A mixtape vet who allegedly turned down a record deal offer from Jay Z's Roc Nation, Badass' proper debut is slated for early 2014.

After eight years of consistent and diverse guest roles on shows ranging from "General Hospital" to "Dexter," 13-year-old Knight has scored his first gig as a series regular on the upcoming "Welcome to the Family," which is set to lead out "Parks and Recreation" on the Peacock this fall. Knight will also be playing the role of Bean opposite Harrison Ford, Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld in Summit's "Ender's Game" this fall.

The youngest actress to win a Genie (the Canadian film academy's annual awards) for her touching turn in "Monsieur Lazhar," bilingual Nelisse hails from Montreal, where she appeared on sitcom "Les Parents." She expands her resume of serious perfs this fall with the lead role in "The Book Thief," based on Markus Zusack's YA bestseller about a girl whose interest in reading helps her cope with the horrors of World War II.

Known since 2011 as the sarcastic scene-stealing buddy on MTV's wildly popular "Teen Wolf," O'Brien has starred in the teen romantic drama "The First Time," appeared in Fox's "The New Girl" and played a young Google intern opposite Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in "The Internship." The comedic actor tackles his first leading role in Fox's 2014 thriller"The Maze Runner," based on James Dashner's dystopian YA series, followed by another toplining perf in DreamWorks' time-travel film "Glimmer."

The fresh-faced 18-year-old carried Sundance competition pic "Toy's House," which opened theatrically in May under the title "The Kings of Summer." After getting his start doing local children's theater in his hometown of Seattle, Robinson landed the role of Ryder Scanlon on ABC Family sitcom "Melissa & Joey." As the young wheelman in a warehouse robbery on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," he also had the privilege of being rubbed out by Steve Buscemi.

Appearing this fall in the NBC sitcom "About a Boy," this newly 13 thesp previously played the president's son on NBC's "1600 Penn." @Benjstockham is active on Twitter with more than 1,500 fans following posts that range from photos with fellow thesps at movie premieres (at "Despicable Me 2" with Steve Carell) to his recent July post: "It's my birthday month! Woohoo ... I will be an official teenager. That's good right?"

The 9-year-old actress got her start doing commercials for Play-Doh, Miracle Whip and Fisher Price products, but makes the leap to the bigscreen in a major way with Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" next month. After attending an open-call audition, Tremblay landed the role of the young girl who inspires Matt Damon's sci-fi uprising. Next up, she will play the daughter of Robert Downey Jr. in the David Dobkin-directed feature "The Judge."

A fledgling fixture on the D.C. comedy scene, 20-year-old Wardell is getting an early start at a standup career. Named the capital's boy wonder by the Washington Post, Wardell started doing standup at 17 and cracked audiences up with his awkward adolescent charm. With tour dates at SXSW, the Bridgetown Comedy Fest, and the Comedy Central Stage in Hollywood, Wardell is slowly building his brand around the country.