Justin Henry (born May 25, 1971 in Rye, New York) is an American actor and director. As a child actor, he appeared in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), playing the son of Dustin Hoffman's and Meryl Streep's characters. Henry had little prior acting experience, but was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. To this day, he remains the youngest actor ever (at the age of 8) to be nominated for an Oscar.
In the 1980s, Henry appeared as Mike Baker in the Brat Pack film Sixteen Candles, playing younger brother to Samantha Baker, played by Molly Ringwald.
His acting career stagnated after playing a number of smaller roles in various films in the mid-to-late 1980s, including Sweet Heart's Dance, starring Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon. He left acting in the late 1990s to pursue education and attended Skidmore College.
He has directed several independent films and acted in the TV film Andersonville.
He ranked at #80 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars.
After a dream start in the business, when he was chosen for a pivotal role in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) at the age of seven, without any acting experience, Justin Henry's career has stagnated. He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Kramer vs. Kramer", becoming one of the youngest actors ever nominated. During the eighties, he appeared in a handful of films, including "Martin's Day" and John Hughes's teen film "Sixteen Candles". But after co-starring in "Sweet Hearts Dance" (1988), he left films to pursue an education, before returning eight years later to star in John Frankenheimer's television film Andersonville (1996) (TV). He has once again been working in front of the camera in independently directed films including "Finding Home" and "My Dinner with Jimi", and is long away from his film debut as the kid with no acting training. He has made the transformation to a full adult actor and is waiting for what the future has in stock for him.
