Little sister Abbie looks to be a big star
Abigail Breslin always knew it’d come to this.
She’d grown up on movie sets, thanks to her older brother, Spencer Breslin, who at 8 starred alongside Bruce Willis in Disney’s “The Kid.” While her brother mugged for the camera, little Abbie sat quietly, until one day she got the call.
M. Night Shyamalan was on the hunt for a New Yorker to play Mel Gibson‘s daughter in “Signs.” When Abbie’s mom, Kim, heard the news, she turned to her 4-year-old to see if she’d be interested in auditioning.
“Yes,” Abbie said, after a moment. “I’m ready.”
There’s no question the freshly minted star has talent. Her performance in this summer’s indie of choice, “Little Miss Sunshine,” drew glowing reviews. There’s talk that the 10-year-old ingénue is poised to take over the throne of Junior Hollywood, long ruled by Dakota Fanning, who, at 12, is getting up there.
The film follows an emotionally fractured family as it road-trips to Redondo Beach, Calif., where its tiniest member, 7-year-old Olive, will compete for the crown of Little Miss Sunshine. Along the way, Abbie holds her own among the cast’s heavy-hitting players – Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear, among others.
“Her performance was so consistent,” said Valerie Faris, who directed the film with her husband, Jonathan Dayton. “There’s just never a false moment with her. She never missed a beat, and that’s just unheard of with child actors.”
Faris and Dayton immediately sensed that gift in Abbie a few years ago while watching her on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” where she had joined her brother Spencer in promoting “The Santa Clause 2.”
“She was so full of life,” Dayton said, adding that, more than lively, she appeared utterly focused on her conversation with Leno; the ability to listen is rare among child actors.
Abbie came off, not as a rehearsed, buffed and packaged performer, but “as a little girl having a good time,” Faris said.
Abbie’s “Sunshine” character, Olive, is pudgy, bespectacled and plain. In real life, Abbie is nothing of the sort. Bright-eyed with doll-like features and a fresh-scrubbed glow, Abbie is one to turn heads.
How did she feel about carrying a feature film at such a young age?
“It wasn’t that scary for me. I thought it was just, like, you know, like, fun. It was just, like, you know, going to work, pretty much,” she said, giggling at the absurdity of such a statement coming from a 10-year-old. “Yep, just going to work.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Tommy Sands is 69. Musician Daryl Dragon of the Captain and Tennille is 64. Actress Tuesday Weld is 63. Singer-bassist Tim Bogert of Vanilla Fudge is 62. Actress Marianne Sagebrecht is 61. Actress Barbara Bach is 59. Ex-porn star Harry Reems (“Deep Throat”) is 59. Actor Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman) is 54. Bassist Glen Matlock of The Sex Pistols is 50. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 44. Percussionist Bobo of Cypress Hill is 38. Actress Chandra Wilson (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 37. Guitarist Jon Siebels of Eve 6 is 27. Actress Alexa Vega (“Spy Kids”) is 18.