In a surprising twist to a classic ‘where are they now’ tale, the child actor from Jerry Maguire has made a significant career shift into mixed martial arts.
Years back, a young Jonathan Lipnicki, then six years old, captured hearts in the film industry with his endearing innocence.
Lipnicki starred in notable films such as Stuart Little, The Little Vampire, and Like Mike, among others.
Fast forward to today, at age 33, Lipnicki has continued to expand his film career while immersing himself in a completely different discipline.
As a teenager, Lipnicki began training in jiu-jitsu, and after 14 years of dedication, he earned his black belt in 2020.
In 2012, he disclosed that his family ‘actually owns an MMA promotion company,’ which unexpectedly inspired him to take his interests and career in a new direction.
He stated: “Because of that, I’ve given my mom a lot of the fighters to fight in a show. I’m actually training one of my friends right now — he’s fighting a jiu-jitsu guy. So I’m his sparring guy. If it’s someone way better, I won’t be a good sparring partner.”
Beyond his athletic pursuits, Lipnicki, who is from a Jewish family, has emphasized the importance of addressing racial injustice as part of his efforts.
He previously shared with TMZ: “There have been a lot of anti-Semitic hate crimes and violence towards Jews.
“He (Remy) started this group where we decided to make sure people got home and to the synagogue safely.
“A lot of us are martial artists or own martial arts gyms and not all of us are Jewish. It’s just people wanting to help other people.
“Everyone should have the right to worship without being discriminated against.”
Lipnicki also added: “Bullies of any sort or people who promote hatred don’t like when there’s a presence there and I think having a presence is a huge deterrent.”
Lipnicki’s rise to fame began with Jerry Maguire, and director Cameron Crowe has revealed that Tom Cruise maintained contact with the mother of the child originally cast for the role, who was replaced by Jonathan Lipnicki.
“Tom stayed in touch with the mother of the kid who had asked to be replaced,” Crowe told Deadline. “Tom wrote him and called and sent him stuff. I only knew this because his mother called to say, ‘Thank you for everything Tom Cruise has done to make my son feel good about even being in the movie and working with him as much as he did.’”