Return to sender.
Child star Justin Cooper, whose claim to fame is his portrayal of Jim Carrey’s son at the age of 8 in the 1997 film “Liar, Liar,” revealed in a recent interview on the “Not So Little Rascals” podcast that he received disturbing fan mail from inmates when he was just a kid.
“My mom did a really good job of protecting me from things, you know,” she told co-hosts Jordan Warkol and Blake Collins (who starred in 1994’s “The Little Rascals”) when asked if there were “overwhelming” or “scary” moments of childhood fame.
“He was going to tell me about the prison letters that he never showed me later,” Cooper told a stunned Warkol and Collins.
“Like, letters from people in prison, like… you know… guys in prison talking about what big fans they are of me and how I’m such a sweet kid.”
The co-hosts called the strange postage “next level” and “crazy.”
Cooper, 37, praised his mother for never leaving him alone with anyone on film or TV sets, in an industry where some parents tell their children to “do whatever they tell you.”
The actor, who also starred as the title character in 1998’s direct-to-video “Dennis the Menace Strikes Again,” also talked about how his childhood fame affected his life after the release of “Liar, Liar.”
“I couldn’t really go anywhere in public. I enjoyed it. I thought it was great,” Cooper said.
He admitted that it “probably annoyed” his family “a little bit more,” recalling people lining up at the kiosk in his hometown to ask for his autograph.
Besides “Liar, Liar,” Cooper’s longer TV credits include roles in “The Boys Are Back” and “Brother’s Keeper” in the ’90s; but he also had one-off appearances on “Full House,” “ER,” “General Hospital” and “Boy Meets World” throughout the decade.
His most recent credit is a 2003 episode of “The Practice.”
Cooper currently serves as executive producer of “The Ben Maller Show” on FOX Sports Radio.
In addition to Cooper and Carrey, “Liar, Liar” also starred Maura Tierney, Cary Elwes and Jennifer Tilly.
Cooper was nominated for best performance in a feature film for an actor 10 or younger at the Young Artist Awards for his work in the Tom Shadyac-directed film.