Willis is not alone in his praise for Osment. "Talk to anyone associated with the making of this film and they will tell you the same thing; Haley Joel Osment is a one-of-a-kind find, an 11-year-old as intelligent and seasoned as any Hollywood acting veteran," Willis says.
Director M. Night Shyamalan adds, "I’ve worked with kids before. We had strong child actors in ‘Wide Awake,’ for example. The role of Cole, however, was uniquely complex. It was even more important to find the right actor. We had to find someone we could believe had all these terrifying things happening to him.
"I had seen kids from New York and Philadelphia and was getting tapes from all over the country. I was physically and mentally exhausted from the search but eventually I went to Los Angeles to look, although, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking that was going to be a waste of time. Then Haley came in ... wearing a little Oxford shirt ... and he struck me as a cute, sweet little kid.
"I just leaned back and Haley started the scene and it was like I had never heard the scene before," Shyamalan says. "It was as though I had never heard the dialogue, all of a sudden every word was perfect. He finished the scene and was crying, and I was crying and all I could says was, ‘Who are you? Where did you come from?’ Haley started laughing as he wiped the tears away. Then he did two more scenes for me and he performed every line, every scene just as I wrote it in my head. He completely blew me out of the water!
"I then went back to New York and told the casting director that I don’t want to make the film without Haley," the director says. "It was the weirdest thing that ever came out of my mouth but I was being honest ... I meant it. Then we brought Haley in to read for Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy who have done their share of movies with kids. By the time Haley finished the scene, everyone was crying again and we all agreed that the search was over. It’s done. Haley is Cole."
"When Haley came in he claimed the part as his own," says producer Frank Marshall. "It was the same feeling Kathy and I had on ‘E.T.’ and a couple of other movies that we’ve done. Haley went on to prove himself during production. He was always very serious about the work. He did his homework and understood the lines and the character and the relationships. He doesn’t just say the lines, he looks people in the eye and he understands everything he is saying so you believe him. You believe that he is haunted and disturbed and suffering."
"I’m very honored that I was picked to play Cole," says Osment without a trace of stereotypic child actor precocity. "It is an outstanding script and I believe it’s going to be a ground-breaker. It was a really fun movie to work on and what I liked about it is that it goes through a lot of different levels. It changes and will make you laugh and cry and it will definitely scare you, too. It’ll keep you in your seat watching it and will carry you through to the end."
Shyamalan says, "In all great movies there is some element of magic. When I say ‘magic’ I mean something that goes way beyond what’s on the page ... something you couldn’t recreate if you tried. Haley is that ‘magic’ of ‘The Sixth Sense.’"
The young actor’s feature film credits include Nora Ephron’s "Mixed Nuts," Jason Alexander’s directorial debut "For Better or Worse," and Norman Jewison’s "Bogus," in which he starred opposite Oscar® winner Whoopi Goldberg and Gérard Depardieu. Osment recently completed filming the World War II feature, "I’ll Remember April."
Osment has also provided numberous voices in both animated series and film. Most recently he was heard as the voice of Chip in Walt Disney’s home video release "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas," and the soon to be released Disney home video "The Hunchback of Notre Dame Deux."
Eleven-year-old HALEY JOEL OSMENT (Cole Sear) is an award-winning actor who began his television and film career at age 5. He won his first honor, the Youth in Film Award, for his role as Forrest, Jr. in the Oscar®-winning feature film, "Forrest Gump." He then went on to win the prestigious Young Star Award for his role in TNT’s film, "Last Stand at Saber River," which starred Tom Selleck.
His television career began as a series regular on "Thunder Alley," starring opposite Edward Asner. He went on to co-star as Matt Foxworthy on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," and then appeared as Avery Brown on the long-running series "Murphy Brown."
Osment’s earlier television credits include the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of "The Ransom of Red Chief" in which he starred opposite Christopher Lloyd, NBC’s movie for television "The Lake," and guest starring roles on CBS’s "Touched By An Angel," NBC’s "The Pretender" and the CBS drama "Cab to Canada," in which he starred with Maureen O’Hara. More recently Osment captured audiences on a heartfelt episode of "Ally McBeal" where he played a dying boy who wanted to sue God. For this performance, he was submitted for Emmy consideration.
