In the 20 years since Forrest Gump debuted, many of the movie’s stars — most of whom were already established in the entertainment business — have gone on to other big roles. But Michael Conner Humphreys, the 8-year-old Mississippi boy who played Young Forrest Gump, only has one more acting credit. So, what has Michael Conner Humpreys been up to since Forrest Gump?
Following the success of the film, Michael decided to stay in the South even though he got acting offers from Hollywood.
“No one really wanted to move to LA,” he told The Associated Press in 2008 of the family decision, explaining that his parents ultimately left it up to him.
After high school, Michael became a tank battalion infantryman in the Army and was nicknamed “Gump” by his peers. He served in the Anbar Province in Iraq for one year.
“It was a good experience and you saw a lot of bad things, a lot of people got hurt over there,” he said in 2008. “There was definitely a lot of violence. I just hope that we did some good. In the end, I learned a lot and I hope it made me a better person.”
After his enlistment ended in June 2008, Michael continued his education at the University of North Alabama. He made his return to a film a short time later for Pathfinders. He said he wasn’t opposed to a movie career, but didn’t want to bank on it.
The movie was released in 2011 and was not a critical success. It’s unclear what Michael’s been up to since then… But he’s set to appear on Entertainment Tonight this week to provide that update!
