Of the many pleasures found in the sleeper comedy hit “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), none were more endearing than the performance by child actress Abigail Breslin. As seven-year-old Olive, her unflagging enthusiasm blinded her to both the fact that her doughy, bespectacled appearance was entirely at odds with a child beauty pageant that she wished to participate in, and that her family – who are constantly on the verge of mental and emotional collapse – might provide her biggest stumbling block in achieving the title of “Little Miss Sunshine.” Drawing comparisons to a young Dakota Fanning and even Drew Barrymore in her younger, “E.T.” (1982) days, Breslin’s astonishing performance was alternately hilarious, heartbreaking and hopeful, and helped secure the promise of the talent beyond her years she had shown in her earlier films.Born April 14, 1996, Breslin was the younger sister of child actor Spencer Breslin, who starred in “Disney’s The Kid” (2000) and “The Cat in the Hat” (2003); the siblings appeared together in the 2004 weeper “Raising Helen” and “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.” Her acting career began with appearances in several national television commercials, starting with a spot for Toys ‘R’ Us at the age of three. Her big break came in 2002 when M. Night Shyamalan cast her as Mel Gibson’s youngest daughter in his science fiction hit, “Signs.” Her character in the film – a curiously grave adolescent girl dealing with the traumatic death of her mother – clearly showed that Breslin had the chops to handle complex parts even at the tender age of six.
Turns on episodic series such as “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC, 1999- ) and “Navy N.C.I.S.” (CBS, 2003- ) preceded a trio of films in 2004 – all very different in tone and audience. In “Raising Helen,” she was one of three recently orphaned children being raised by their career-minded aunt, while in the frothy teen comedy/romance “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004), she had what amounted to a cameo as a parade girl. Her final 2004 film was the dark, psychological drama “Keane” by “Clean, Shaven” (1995) director Lodge Kerrigan, in which she played the young daughter of a down-and-out mother who entrusts her child to a man who appears to be teetering on the edge of madness.
More TV and a direct-to-video feature – the kids’ movie “Chestnut: Hero of Central Park,” (2006) – followed, but “Little Miss Sunshine” was primed and sitting in the wings. Breslin found herself once again the subject of critical praise and movie audiences’ adoration. Her entrancing, star-making performance – which stood out in a cast peopled by such top talent as Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell, and the esteemed Alan Arkin, with whom she shared some of the film’s funniest scenes – was recognized by the Gotham Awards, who nominated her for Breakthrough Performance and as part of the Best Ensemble Cast. She also got a nod from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, earning a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Theatrical Motion Pictures. The ultimate recognition came in early 2007 when Breslin garnered an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress, making her the fourth-youngest actress ever nominated.
Since her summer triumph in “Little Miss Sunshine,” Breslin kept busy on both film and television; among her 2006 credits was a turn on “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC, 2005- ) as a child who can not experience physical pain, and several features, including the Vince Vaughn comedy “Fred Claus” (2007) and “Definitely, Maybe” (2008), a romantic comedy in which she played the daughter of divorcee Ryan Reynolds.
