Haley Joel Osment, the actor who famously whispered, “I see dead people,” in The Sixth Sense, has built a net worth of $4 million as of April 2025. That number might seem modest compared to the massive paydays of some Hollywood stars, but Osment’s career has been a rollercoaster of child stardom, critical acclaim, legal troubles, and a steady grind in indie films and TV gigs.
Born on April 10, 1988, in Los Angeles, Osment started acting at just four years old, booking a Pizza Hut commercial before landing his first big role as Forrest Gump’s son in the 1994 classic. His sister, Emily Osment, followed him into acting, but Haley was the one who became a household name almost overnight after The Sixth Sense hit theaters in 1999.
The film, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, grossed $672 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, and Osment’s performance as Cole Sear earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at age 11, making him one of the youngest nominees ever.
Inside Haley Joel Osment’s Modest $4 Million Net Worth as of 2025
Despite the success of The Sixth Sense, Osment’s paycheck was surprisingly small. He earned just $150,000 for the film, while his co-star Bruce Willis walked away with $14 million upfront plus a 17% cut of the gross receipts, totaling a staggering $120 million. Osment’s subsequent roles paid better—$1 million for Pay It Forward (2000) and $2 million for A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)—but his peak earnings during his child actor days amounted to around $5 million, roughly $10 million adjusted for inflation.
After A.I., Osment took a step back from Hollywood, focusing on voice work, most notably as Sora in the Kingdom Hearts video game series, a role he’s held since 2002. He also dabbled in Broadway, starring in a short-lived 2008 revival of American Buffalo, before transitioning to adult roles in TV shows like Silicon Valley, Future Man, and The Boys.
Osment’s personal life hasn’t been without its struggles. In 2006, he crashed his car while driving under the influence, suffering a broken rib and fractured shoulder blade. He pleaded no contest to DUI and controlled substance possession charges, landing three years of probation, a $1,500 fine, and mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Fast forward to April 2025, and Osment found himself in legal trouble again, arrested for public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance at Mammoth Mountain ski resort in California. During the arrest, he reportedly hurled anti-Semitic slurs at the arresting officer, which he later apologized for.
The incident cast a shadow over his reputation, especially coming just months after he and his parents lost their homes in the January 2025 Eaton fire in Altadena, California. Osment had moved into that house in 2019, coincidentally the same day COVID-19 lockdowns began, and later joked that the place felt “cursed” after enduring the 2023 Hollywood strikes and the wildfire.
Financially, Osment’s multimillionaire status reflects a career that never quite matched the stratospheric heights of his early fame but has remained steady. He’s worked consistently, voicing characters in animated projects like Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms, while popping up in cult-favorite TV shows like What We Do in the Shadows and The Kominsky Method.
His filmography is a mix of indie darlings (Tusk, Clara’s Ghost) and bigger projects like the 2019 Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Though he never regained the A-list status of his Sixth Sense days, Osment has carved out a niche as a versatile character actor, equally comfortable in comedy, drama, and horror.
