LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Abigail Breslin is mourning the loss of her on-screen grandfather. Alan Arkin, who died at the age of 89 on Thursday, June 29, shared a special bond with Breslin during their time working together on the 2006 comedy-drama 'Little Miss Sunshine'. The talented actor left a lasting impression on Breslin, as she holds him dear in her heart.
The actor’s death was confirmed by his sons, who offered a joint statement. "Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed," they said.
'He will always be Grandpa in my heart'
In a statement, Breslin shared her heartfelt memories of Arkin following his death. "Alan Arkin was one of the kindest, gentlest and hilarious actors I ever worked with," Breslin said as per People. "We may not have been related in real life but he will always be Grandpa in my heart, I send my deepest sympathies this his wife Suzanne and his family."
'I hope she loses'
Despite having only 14 minutes of screen time in the hit film, both Arkin and Breslin received Oscar nominations for their remarkable performances. Arkin's portrayal earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, Arkin, despite her nomination, didn't want Breslin to win due to her young age and the potential negative consequences it could have.
"I hope she loses. What, next year she is going to get the Nobel Prize?" he told Access Hollywood at the time. "It’s enough. She has had enough attention. I love her and I love her family, and I feel enough is enough. She is a kid; she needs to have a childhood. I hope she loses."
Alan Arkin shielded Abigail Breslin from profanity on set
During a 2021 interview on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show', Breslin shared her experience working with Arkin and how he protected her from the film's explicit language. "There's a scene where there's some language that I cannot repeat on television," she told Clarkson. "Alan was very, very not comfortable having me listen to it, so he would always check to make sure I had the headphones on and was actually listening to music," she explained.
In the scene mentioned by Breslin, Arkin's character delivers a profanity-laden speech, including a line where he tells his grandson (Paul Dano) to "f*** a lot of women." In the scene, Breslin's character (Olive) is in the car, wearing red headphones. When Arkin's character is asked to watch his language, he says, "Olive, I'll give you a million dollars if you turn around," to which Breslin's character doesn't respond.
Breslin clarified that she wasn't pretending not to hear, but she genuinely couldn't hear it because she had her headphones on. "I was listening to the 'Breakaway' album," she told Clarkson. "The whole time that you're watching that, I'm listening to 'You Found Me'." Breslin revealed that even at the film's premiere, Arkin expressed discomfort with her, a 10-year-old at the time, watching the scene in question. "He sat next to me, and to my mom he'd be like, 'Can you get her out of the theater please?' for that scene."
