The former child star was spotted on a rare outing in Los Angeles earlier this week.
The 42-year-old former actor was once an in-demand artist who worked with iconic filmmakers including Tim Burton, Tony Scott and Kathryn Bigelow.
On screen he has appeared alongside generational talent including Robert De Niro, Angela Bassett, Wesley Snipes, Ralph Fiennes – and even Bugs Bunny.
This actor appeared in a mix of modern classics and blockbusters in the 1990s, but his career in front of the camera came to an abrupt halt in the early 2000s.
More than twenty years after his last film and television roles, this performer looks completely unrecognizable.
Can you guess who this one-time child star is?
The former child star was spotted on a rare outing in Los Angeles earlier this week
The 42-year-old former actor once worked with iconic filmmakers including Tim Burton, Tony Scott and Kathryn Bigelow. On screen he has appeared with generational talents such as Robert De Niro, Angela Bassett, Wesley Snipes, Ralph Fiennes – and even Bugs Bunny
More than twenty years after his last film and television roles, this performer looks completely unrecognizable. Can you guess who this one-time child star is?
He is former child star Brandon Hammond.
The Daily Mail has contacted Hammond for comment.
He’s best known to contemporary audiences for playing the decade-old version of Michael Jordan in the blockbuster Space Jam (1996), and he followed that big-budget spectacle by appearing in Tim Burton’s cult classic sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks that same year.
Hammond — born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to a mother who managed his acting career — looked nothing like the young actor who appeared in multiple films and television shows when he was photographed on his way to a high school class earlier this week.
He was dressed casually in a burgundy T-shirt, black sweatpants and dark Crocs.
The once clean-shaven star now sported a thick salt-and-pepper beard and a backpack slung over one shoulder.
Hammond’s first credited role was a guest star in the short-lived drama Gabriel’s Fire, starring James Earl Jones, in 1991, and he graduated to feature films with the 1993 crime classic Menace II Society, in which he played a young version of one of the adult leads.
Although he booked a few more TV guest spots, including a role on Coach, Hammond was destined to become a movie star in the ’90s.
He’s former child star Brandon Hammond! He is best known for his role as the young Michael Jordan in Space Jam and for his performance in Tim Burton’s sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks!; pictured in 1997
Hammond appeared mainly in films, but his longest-running TV role was on the show The Gregory Hines; pictured with Hines (center), Bill Cobbs (top left), and Wendell Pierce (top right) in 1997
Hammond – born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to a mother who managed his acting career – looked nothing like the young actor who appeared in multiple films and television shows when he was pictured heading to a high school class earlier this week
He was dressed casually in a burgundy T-shirt, black sweatpants and dark Crocs
The once clean-shaven star now sported a thick salt-and-pepper beard and had a backpack slung over one shoulder
Hammond’s first credited role was a guest star in the short-lived drama Gabriel’s Fire, starring James Earl Jones, in 1991, and he graduated to feature films with the 1993 crime classic Menace II Society, in which he played a young version of one of the adult leads.
In 1995, he appeared in the cult classic dystopian science fiction film Strange Days, directed by future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and starring Angela Basset and Ralph Fiennes.
But after a guest role on The West Wing in 2000, Hammond’s last on-screen credit was for the 2002 TV movie Our America. Since then, he has remained involved in the film and television industries, but on the fringes as a writer and director of short films
Join the discussion
Why do so many talented child stars struggle to find lasting success in Hollywood as adults?
In 1995, he appeared in the cult classic dystopian science fiction film Strange Days, directed by future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow.
Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis and Tom Sizemore starred in the film, which was set in a near-future version of Los Angeles and provided a prescient look at police brutality inspired by the Rodney King beating and the 1992 LA riots.
Hammond was paired again with Bassett in 1995’s Waiting To Exhale, which also starred Whitney Houston, Loretta Devine and Gregory Hines, with Forest Whitaker stepping behind the camera to direct.
The following year he appeared in the Tony Scott-directed thriller The Fan, a box office disappointment starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes.
But 1996 also saw Hammond’s two biggest films, Space Jam and Mars Attacks.
Hammond then worked largely in television, where he booked a recurring role on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. That year, he reunited with Hines for his longest-running role on The Gregory Hines Show.
But after a guest role on The West Wing in 2000, Hammond’s last on-screen credit was in the 2002 TV movie Our America.
He has since remained involved in the film and television industries, but in the suburbs as a writer and director.
He has directed several short films since the mid-2000s and recently worked as an acting coach on the 2024 short film Exit Interview.
