Michael Conner Humphreys portrayed Young Forrest Gump

What happened to Michael Conner Humphreys?

Tom Hanks portrayed Forrest Gump in the 1993 film of the same name and went on to a stellar career. Michael Conner Humphreys gave a memorable performance as young Forrest and was chosen because he looked like a young Tom Hanks. 

The man who played Gump as an adult said he studied the mannerisms and voice pattern of young Michael, who actually talked the way he sounded on screen. 

Humphreys was born in the small town of Independence, Mississippi, on March 1, 1985. He was 8 when he filmed the iconic movie and was nominated for a Young Artist's Award. The casting team chose him because of his thick Southern accent.

Hanks continued his stellar career, but what happened to Humphries? What has he been doing since that time, and did he remain a Hollywood actor?

In addition to Forrest Gump, he starred in the theatrical play "If All the Sky Were Paper," which was narrated by Garrett Schweighauser. Humphreys worked with popular actors Annette Bening, Laura Dern, Gary Cole, Jim Beaver, and Christopher Sweeney.

The man who portrayed a young Gump gave a handful of interviews about his experience in the film in the early 1990s and talked to the press about the awards that followed the movie premiere. 

Humphreys did not take to Hollywood

The child actor sat down with SNACK in 2021 to catch fans up on his life and reflect on the Tom Hanks film. He detailed what happened once he got cast as young Forrest. Screenrant reports"

"We went to film. My mom took me for months to do that, and my dad was back at home taking care of my two younger sisters. He had to leave his job to take care of my sisters during those few months while we were filming. I did the shooting in the middle of '93, and then I was essentially involved with it for the next two years."

Some child stars continue to act into adulthood, while others walk away. Not everyone is cut out for fame, and Michael Humphreys is one of them. He admitted that he did not enjoy being a celebrity based on the following statement.

His experience made him anti-celebrity

Because of the experience I had, I became very anti-celebrity. Just the idea of fame, and all my experiences with it, have been really negative. I think you can either be really famous, and you get the benefits, or you are constantly at the bottom scrounging for it, and that is kind of what I saw as a kid. I just wanted to have nothing to do with it."

Every year, there are Hollywood hopefuls who desire stardom. Michael Conner Humphries was in one of the most beloved films of all time, but the acting bug did not bite him, proving everyone's journey is different.

Humphreys enlisted in the US Army

Humphreys did not remain in the entertainment business. In November 2004, he enlisted in the US Army as an infantryman. He served in the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division in Anbar Province, Iraq. He was later assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was discharged in 2008.

He was quoted as saying the following in The Daily News about his experience. It was a good experience, and you saw a lot of bad thing. A lot of people got hurt over there. I just hope that we did some good.

Michael Conner Humphreys will forever be remembered as a young Forrest Gump running so fast his leg braces came off.