Former child actor Justin Cooper says his mother quietly kept fan letters sent by incarcerated men away from him after he became famous in Liar Liar at age 8.
Cooper, now 37, described the unusual correspondence during a new episode of The Not So Little Rascals podcast. He played Max Reede, the son of Jim Carrey’s compulsively dishonest lawyer Fletcher Reede, in the hit 1997 comedy.
The movie dramatically changed ordinary outings for Cooper and his family. He said he “couldn’t really go anywhere in public” without being recognized, and diners sometimes formed a line beside the family’s table at Hometown Buffet to ask for his autograph.
Cooper said he generally enjoyed the attention, although he acknowledged that it probably annoyed his family more than it bothered him. When the podcast hosts asked whether fame had ever felt frightening or overwhelming, he credited his mother with shielding him from experiences he did not learn about until later.
His Mom Kept the ‘Prison Mail’ Away From Him
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“My mom did a really good job of shielding me from stuff,” Cooper recalled. One example was what he described as “prison mail” that arrived after Liar Liar made him recognizable. “She would tell me later on about, like, prison mail that I would get that she never showed me,” Cooper said.
Asked what he meant, Cooper said the correspondence included “letters from people in jail” and specifically “dudes in jail” who wrote that they were big fans or told him he was “such a cute kid.” His mother did not show him those letters when he was a child.
He remembered going to Hometown Buffet with his family and finding people lining up at their table for autographs while everyone was trying to eat dinner. “I didn’t mind it,” he said. “I thought it was cool.” As Entertainment Weekly reported, Cooper’s mother’s protection extended beyond screening unusual fan correspondence.
His Mother Never Left Him Alone With Anyone on Set
Cooper said his mother maintained firm boundaries throughout his years as a working child actor. “She never ever left me alone with anybody on set,” he said.
He contrasted her approach with stories about parents who allowed young performers to go off and follow whatever instructions adults on a production gave them. “My mom was not like that,” Cooper said, adding that she could be protective “almost to a fault.”
He has continued to describe the actual experience of making Liar Liar positively. Before Cooper officially landed the role of Max, he visited Jim Carrey’s home so the filmmakers could see whether the two actors had chemistry. Cooper recalled seeing Carrey’s Riddler costume and a Batmobile in the backyard during the visit.
Jim Carrey Hid a Fire Marshal Bill Cameo in an Emotional Scene
Cooper also shared a behind-the-scenes memory involving one of Liar Liar‘s more unexpected visual jokes. Near the end of the movie, after Fletcher’s frantic airport pursuit leaves him injured, Max and his parents share an emotional scene while Fletcher is being treated.
Carrey can also be spotted in the background disguised as Fire Marshal Bill, his famously unhinged character from In Living Color. Cooper said the background gag was Carrey’s idea. While the foreground action remained serious, Carrey was behind it making Fire Marshal Bill’s exaggerated faces. It was another example, Cooper said, of Carrey being much like his energetic public persona even when cameras were not focused directly on him.
Auditions Became a Chore Once Cooper Reached High School
Cooper continued acting after Liar Liar, with credits including Brother’s Keeper, All About Us and The Practice. By the time he reached his teenage years, however, auditions had begun to feel more like an obligation than something he wanted to pursue.
He recalled that getting to an audition could require sitting in the car for 45 or 50 minutes, doing the audition and then returning home with schoolwork still waiting. At that point in his life, Cooper said he would rather have gone home and talked to girls on AOL Instant Messenger.
His mother initially felt some disappointment when he told her that he wanted to stop acting, but Cooper said the conversation ultimately went well. His final credited acting appearance came in a 2003 episode of The Practice, ending a childhood career that had also included Full House, General Hospital, The Boys Are Back and Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!.
Cooper Built a New Career at Fox Sports Radio
Leaving acting did not mean leaving the entertainment business entirely. Cooper eventually moved behind the scenes into sports radio. On the podcast, he described cold-emailing his way into an internship that developed into a career producing an overnight sports show.
He now works as an executive producer at Fox Sports Radio. The network has also featured him on air, including a segment in which Executive Producer Justin Cooper joined a discussion about NFL playoff ticket prices and other sports topics.