With her breakout performances in Deep Impact, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries,and Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, Leelee Sobieski quickly became one of Hollywood's most sought-after adolescents. But unlike many child actors who go on to struggle to live up to the hype, this native New Yorker proved that she was here to stay, with strong turns in Joy Ride and the NBC miniseries Uprising, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. This summer, Sobieski appears in Michael Mann's Public Enemies as a girlfriend of the infamous bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp).

Deep Impact (1998) While shooting this sci-fi drama about an enormous comet headed toward earth, Sobieski discovered that not everything you see in the movies is make-believe. "When we were climbing up the mountain, I was carrying a real baby. That scared me to death, but it also really helped me understand and get wrapped up in the emotion of the scene. I kept saying to myself, 'I hope I don't slip and land on the baby.' It also made me think that I would never put my own baby in the hands of a 14-year-old girl who was climbing up a mountain. But they do really strange things in films sometimes."

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Legendary director Stanley Kubrick may have been a mystery to most, but Sobieski found him to be a generous and lovely man. "After we finished shooting, Stanley gave my mom and me seven boxes of Swiss chocolates. He also wrote me a beautiful letter saying that when I next came back to London, he would show me all his favorite spots. I thought that was really sweet and kind, but it never happened. [Kubrick died shortly after Eyes Wide Shut wascompleted.] The next time I was in the city, I was sad because I didn't get to see his London. "

Joy Ride (2001) In this dark thriller, Sobieski, along with Paul Walker and Steve Zahn, take the road trip from hell, psychotic trucker included. "We were being chased through a cornfield by a truck. And they would say, 'Don't fall,' because the driver couldn't see us that well. The corn wasn't soft yet, so the leaves were very sharp, and you had to keep your hands up so they wouldn't cut your face. Sometimes we would take the corn off of the husks and put it in the back of people's hoods so it would end up falling on their heads. You have to come up with entertaining ways to stay awake at 5 o'clock in the morning."

88 Minutes (2008) For her work in both In the Name of the King and this psychological thriller costarring Al Pacino, Sobieski had the dubious distinction of being nominated for a Razzie, which celebrates the worst performances of the year. "I think it's funny. You can never control the end product. When I found out about it, I was on a road trip checking out monuments and national parks, so I was totally disconnected. I didn't pay that much attention to it - I mean, I didn't even know what day the event took place. Plus, Al was nominated, so I thought to myself, 'He got one too, so I'm in good company.' "