Abigail Breslin is an unsung hero of comedy in the past two decades, turning in some of the funniest performances in unexpected places while also taking turns at drama and killing it in kind. From her debut in Signs to her embrace of the Scream Queen status figuratively and literally, Abigail has become a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
Born in April of 1996 and raised in New York City, Abigail Breslin was just the youngest of three alongside brothers Ryan and Spencer (of Cat in the Hat fame).
She would start off acting in commercials, notably for Toys R Us just before the turn of the millennium. It didn’t take long though before she made her big break in the latest blockbuster thriller from the director of The Sixth Sense, M Night Shyamalan.
We’re only going to mention his name once to avoid a Beetlejuice situation where he shows up and adapts another of my favorite books into something… eh.
Aliens!
Signs came before the fall though and saw Abigail Breslin as the precocious daughter of Mel Gibson, Bo in the alien thriller that still has one of the best jump scares of all time.
Abigail would earn praise for her part, with audiences and critics lauding her portrayal and lending more authenticity to the “The aliens are actually demons” fan theory.
Then began what’s come to be known as the Shyama-lull, where things became progressively worse for the director until 2015.
That doesn’t matter though, because we’re talking about Abigail who kept going through the child star circuit in Hollywood.
Making appearances on crime procedurals and indie films for the next few years before landing the role that would truly show her ability in Little Miss Sunshine.
She became a standout in the film among stars like Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, and future Riddler Paul Dano.
Little Miss Sunshine would be a massive success for a smaller-budget film, and lead to what might be her most popular role among audiences in the 2009 horror comedy My Sister’s Keeper.
Zombies!
Oops, that was Zombieland. Her role as Little Rock was an integral part of the chemistry among the four leads, and no doubt one of the reasons for the movie’s enduring popularity.
Abigail would return for the sequel in 2019 as well, making for a surprisingly delightful sequel over a decade after the original release.
A lot happened between those releases though, like Abigail becoming a scream queen in indie features through the early 2010s, balancing low-budget horrors like Haunter with more traditional drama with prestige casts such as August: Osage County.
A brief foray into music led to a rebound in horror in 2015, with Abigail Spencer taking on horrors Final Girl and Maggie, the latter notable for Arnold Schwarzenegger acting for free out of love for the script.
It showed too, because Maggie was one of the more subversive zombie films to come out of the ocean of undead that infected the decade.
Ryan Murphy?!
The real achievement that year was Scream Queens. The series from American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy aimed to be a more humorous take on the horror anthology format, this time focused on a mysterious slasher called the Red Devil terrorizing a college campus.
Abigail would play Chanel #5, the usual victim of Chanel and Chanel #3’s ridicule. If you haven’t seen this show, know that it involves Emma Roberts leading a sorority (read: cult) and requiring her followers to dress and act like her.
It’s just uniquely camp and the chemistry between Roberts, Breslin, and Billie Lourd was definitely a contributing factor to the charm.
The second season wasn’t quite as well received and had some rehashing of the first, but still managed to get by with the chemistry between the cast and the addition of charisma-made man John Stamos and Taylor Swift’s least problematic ex, Taylor Lautner.
Catch me outside John Mayer’s house after Speak Now Taylor’s Version drops because it’s on sight.
Where is Abigail Breslin Now?
Back to Abigail, who would keep on keepin’ on after the cancellation of Scream Queens (perfect time for a revival by the way) and take on a sidequest for a Dirty Dancing live musical on ABC in 2017.
Does everyone remember that weird trend of live musical remakes in the mid-2010s? That was definitely a strange time for television, throwing everything at a wall in hopes something would take eyes off streaming and back to live watching.
The last six years have seen Abigail go everywhere from the Zombieland sequel, Double Tap, to the horror comedy Slayers and drama Miranda’s Victim.
The actress is still going at it in every aspect of entertainment, with parts in series coming up and more movies slated for the future.
In a more recent turn of events, she did marry her longtime boyfriend Ira Kunyansky, in January, which is always a happy occasion. Hopefully in the future we can see her reprise Chanel #5, because we need more Scream Queens, dammit!
Author Fourth Wall Break
Ross wrote a book! If you like pirates, airships, and a dystopian corporate run future then have I got the book for you. Check out Between Sunless Seas, the story of Ren, a privileged university student who falls from his airship ark to the surface below the Veil, a layer of pollution separating earth and sky. On the surface for the first time, he falls in with a crew of pirates and their all or nothing scheme to rescue a missing member of the crew. Buy it here so I can make more adventures!
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