Hollywood is littered with the broken lives of former child stars. Some get out before they're ruined though. Such was the case for the boy who played Charlie in the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." Peter Ostrum grew up in Cleveland, OH and was acting in a sixth grade play when he was noticed by talent agents.
He was cast as Charlie Bucket and jetted to Germany to film the movie. Ostrum has fond memories of his five months of filming and looked at is sort of like a foreign exchange student program. Once he was done though, 13-year-old Ostrum decided not to sign a 3-film contract. He noted that acting is more difficult than glamorous.
Today, Ostrum is a large animal veterinarian in Lowville, New York. He lives with his wife and two daughters. Despite having only acted in one film, Ostrum is still known as "the most famous man in Lowville."