Although she has been nominated for an Oscar at the age of 12 and played in 14 movies since 2002, the “Little Miss Sunshine” star Abigail Breslin has remained an adorable and intelligent kid, who is enjoying a normal childhood.

Breslin was named “Female Star of Tomorrow,” but, unlike other very young actresses, she did not allow herself manipulated by fame and success.

The little star said she enjoyed very much filming her latest movie, “Nim’s Island,” which is based on a children’s book of the same title, written by Australian author Wendy Orr.

The film tells the story of a girl who lives with his father, a marine biologist, on a heavenly island, until her dad disappears and she has to cope alone with the hardships of nature, helped by her animal friends.

"It was so much fun. I got to work with sea lions and bearded dragon lizards and the pelican. I trained them and had to feed them and learned how to make them do tricks," an enthusiastic Breslin said in an interview with Reuters.

"I got to do a lot of climbing and running and flying on the zip line, which was really fun. I learned how to do duck dives, how to hold my breath under water and even how to scream under water," she said.

Breslin also expressed her admiration for her co-star in the adventure film, Jodie Foster, who appears, for the first time, in a comedy-role. Breslin did not receive direct advice from Foster, but she declared she had learned a lot from her.

“Just watching her, you're learning from her,” Abigail told OK! magazine. “It was just really cool.”

On her turn, Foster also praised the young actress, saying she was impressed of her performance. Foster, who also appeared in films as a child, said she was happy to see Breslin was developing as a normal child, even in the spotlights.

"Abigail doesn't need any advice from me on life as an actress. She's got great parents, a great head on her shoulders and she's already made a lot of movies at this point, probably as many — or more than — than I did at her age," Jodie said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

"But it's tough to be an adolescent no matter who you are or what you do. Being 13 or 14 is murder, especially if you're in front of the public eye," the actress added. "I wouldn't do it again for anything!"

Foster also said she was very proud of her comedy role, as it would be the first that her children, Charles, 9, and Kit, 6, would be able to see.

“My kids have never seen a movie of mine. This will be the first time. It's their first premiere too!” she said.

 

The film will open on April 4.