An iconic child star now looks unrecognizable 25 years after he shot to fame in an Oscar-winning film.

The actor, now 42, starred in a 2000 Kate Hudson classic which landed him a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination for his screen acting debut.

He played an aspiring rock journalist who goes on tour with a glamorous groupie in the coming-of-age film, which also starred Billy Crudup.

The actor has also appeared in We Bought A Zoo, First Man and Gone Girl.

His last onscreen appearance was in HBO miniseries, Love & Death, before he ditched Hollywood for life in Texas. 

So can you guess who he is?

An iconic child star now looks unrecognizable 25 years after he shot to fame in an Oscar-winning film – who is he? 

It’s Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit! The actor played William Miller in the blockbuster.

The star recently shared with People about his enchantment with Hudson, who was then 19, during the filming of Almost Famous. He remarked: ‘I screen tested with Kate Hudson, and she was very magnetic and very captivating. I was 16. I was like, “Yes, I will be excited to do scenes with her.”‘

‘Those seven months were significant in my life. At 16, I had developed a full-blown crush on Kate Hudson, which eventually subsided, but it was a very influential and developmental time for me as a mid-teenager.’

‘The scenes with Kate come across as if she’s leading me through a whirlwind of what William perceives as magic.’

‘Kate embodied that energy both during our scenes and off-set. It felt ungrounded, mystical, romantic, and exciting, all of which is apparent in the scenes.’

He recently opened up to The Independent US about leaving Hollywood behind for a more normal life with his young child and longtime partner.

He said: ‘I grew up in Utah, and LA’s energy never resonated with me.

‘I cherish being on set, engaging in character and scene development, storytelling, and being in the company of fellow actors and great directors. I love making films.

It’s Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit! The actor played William Miller in the blockbuster – seen with Kate Hudson, who played Penny Lane in the film

The star recently shared with People about his enchantment with Hudson, who was then 19, during the filming of Almost Famous. He remarked: ‘I screen tested with Kate Hudson, and she was very magnetic and very captivating. I was 16. I was like, “Yes, I will be excited to do scenes with her.”‘

The actor has since left Hollywood behind for a more normal life with his child and partner

He said: ‘So Kate was really in that during those scenes, and then also off-set Kate was very much like that as well. So it did not feel grounded. It felt very mystical, it felt romantic, it felt exciting and all of those things that come across in those scenes’

‘And auditioning and stuff like that is its own… it’s almost like a different art form, or a different part of the business.’

‘2020 was a very dynamic period of time in LA and it was not, in fact, dynamism that we really liked

‘We also wanted to have chickens and goats and a big garden and a trampoline in a backyard and cool s*** that we have now for our kid.’

As Hudson’s career proceeded into the 2000s, she became a romantic comedy staple, starring in such pictures as How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Raising Helen, Fool’s Gold, My Best Friend’s Girl and You, Me And Dupree. 

From 2000 to 2007 she was married to The Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson, with whom she shares her eldest son Ryder, 20.

She was later engaged to Muse frontman Matt Bellamy from 2011 to 2014, and over the course of their romance they welcomed a son called Bingham, 13.

Her current fiancé is another musician, Danny Fujikawa, and the couple have a five-year-old daughter called Rani Rose.