Jonathan Lipnicki says an interview about his acting career was interpreted in a way he never intended. The reaction, he said, “actually bugged me a bit.”
The 36-year-old addressed the issue in an October 23 interview with Entertainment Weekly while promoting the psychological thriller Primetime.
The discussion returned to a May 7, 2025, PEOPLE interview about his transition from a recognizable child performer to an adult actor seeking more fulfilling work.
Lipnicki broke through as Ray Boyd, the son of Renée Zellweger’s character, opposite Tom Cruise in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire.
His Prayers Include Gratitude and Concern for Loved Ones
Lipnicki described prayers that include giving thanks, seeking direction and thinking about the people he loves. He regards professional ambition as something that gives him purpose.
“I’ve never felt sorry for myself,” he told EW.
In the earlier conversation, he had acknowledged wanting to be further along professionally while expressing confidence that his best work lay ahead. He encouraged himself to dream big and take practical steps toward those goals.
He Became More Selective About the Roles He Accepted
His childhood filmography grew to include Stuart Little in 1999, its 2002 sequel, The Little Vampire and Like Mike. In the Stuart Little films, he played George Little alongside Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie.
Lipnicki reduced his workload during high school, then took acting classes after graduating. He subsequently worked in independent films and Los Angeles theater productions.
He told PEOPLE that some adult projects had been worthwhile but little seen, while others taught him to choose more carefully. In the year preceding that interview, he had turned down approximately five movie offers.
‘Primetime’ Casts Lipnicki in an Online Predator Sting
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, Primetime stars Robert Pattinson as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen. A24 describes a story inspired by events in 2006, when a television investigation goes fatally wrong. The film opened in theaters on September 25.
Lipnicki plays Crazyfrog73, a man caught in a sting involving a decoy played by Skyler Gisondo. The character appears during the decoy’s introduction to the operation.
In a September 28 interview with i-D, Lipnicki explained that casting representatives contacted his agent to ask whether he would consider the role, given its subject matter. He recorded an audition and received an offer a few days later.
Oppenheim had remembered him from an interview years earlier and kept his name in an iPhone note listing actors he wanted to work with. After their first phone call, the two exchanged ideas before filming.
Lipnicki said playing the character frightened him more than the scene’s nudity. He credited Oppenheim, his fellow actors and the crew with creating a supportive environment for a demanding performance.
Gisondo, Tony Revolori and Alex Winter also began acting young. Asked about that pattern in the casting, Lipnicki said he saw several possible interpretations and deferred to Oppenheim’s vision.
His Next Projects Include a Festival Premiere and Producing Work
Lipnicki appears with Matt Walsh and Geneva Carr in Williston, written and directed by Adam Seidel. The psychological thriller follows three landmen seeking mineral rights in North Dakota from a Native American landowner opposed to the oil industry.
The Coronado Island Film Festival has scheduled its world premiere for November 8 at the Village Main Theatre.
He also cited Butcher’s War, with Aaron Eckhart, among his other projects.
For Mazel Tough, Lipnicki is working as an executive producer. Production company Buffalo 8 describes the romantic comedy as following a young Jewish man navigating dating, identity and the search for a meaningful relationship during the holiday season.