Justin Bieber, child actors

The younger you are, the better your chances.

I once read someone marveling over the Indian-born actor Sabu. He was an orphan working as a stable boy when he was discovered at age 13 and cast in The Elephant Boy. After that, he starred in Drum, The Thief of Bagdad and The Jungle Book. He had gone instantly from being unknown to being a major international star.

But that's not unusual with child stars. Claude Jarman was 10, living in Nashville, when he was discovered and cast in The Yearling. He got an Oscar for that. So many became stars with little or no experience.

I just watched Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC argue that Justin Bieber should have gone to college, THEN pursued a singing career. Bieber grew up in poverty and couldn't have gone to college anyway. Now he's a millionaire. He can go now if he wants. He may not have had the grades or the test scores to get into a middling state college, but he's rich and famous enough to get into any "elite" university.

Bieber has had some legal problems. Maybe they were caused by fame or maybe he would have been that way anyway. If he weren't rich, he'd likely be rotting in a Canadian prison right now.

There are people who put down parents trying to get their kids into the movies, but they may be the kids' only hope. Movies and weapons are America's only exports.