A new year is upon us, with lots of exciting things to come over the next 365 days — and I’m not just talking about the 20+ sequels that are set for release on the 2026 movie calendar. We’ve got Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding date reportedly in June, and Zendaya will turn the big 3-0 in September, as she and Tom Holland plan their own nuptials.

In fact, there are quite a few former child stars who were born in 1996 and will celebrate a milestone birthday this year. Let’s take a look at some of the celebrities who will be “30, flirty and thriving” in 2026:

Zendaya

After working as a fashion model in commercials and singing for KidzBop, Zendaya kicked off her career on the Disney Channel, starring in the 2010 sitcom Shake It Up. That has blossomed into a career that’s won her two Emmys and a Golden Globe for the HBO drama Euphoria, and as she approaches her birthday on September 1, she’s got a number of projects in the works, including Dune: Part Three and The Odyssey.

Tom Holland

Also celebrating a full three decades is Zendaya’s fiancé, Tom Holland, who will have his big day on June 1. Holland transitioned to film from dance and theater in 2012, when he starred in The Impossible with Naomi Watts. He then broke big in 2016 when he made his first appearance as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. This year, he will star in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and will be reprising his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Hailee Steinfeld

Hailee Steinfeld had her breakthrough performance in 2010, when she starred in the Coen brothers’ True Grit and earned an Academy Award nomination. In addition to turning 30 on December 11, the Sinners star will welcome her first child with husband Josh Allen this year. The NFL star will also celebrate the big 3-0 on May 21.

Hailey Bieber

I can only imagine that self-proclaimed nepo baby Hailey Bieber (of Baldwin family fame) will do it big when she marks her 30th trip around the sun on November 22. The model, who shares a son with husband Justin Bieber, began modeling as a teenager and has become quite a successful influencer and skin care mogul.

Paul Mescal

Paul Mescal’s career has really taken off over the past few years, including his latest role in Hamnet, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for the upcoming awards show. He’ll know whether or not he won by the time he turns 30 on February 2.

Mescal got his start in the theater before transitioning to TV in 2020 for Normal People. He will star as Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles movies, The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.

Normani

After coming to fame as part of Fifth Harmony, Normani will celebrate her big day on May 31, nearly a year after the release of her first solo studio album, Dopamine.

Lili Reinhart

We likely know Lili Reinhart best for portraying Betty Cooper in the teen drama Riverdale, but the actress, who will turn 30 on September 13, had roles in movies like The Good Neighbor, The Kings of Summer and even an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit before that.

Abigail Breslin

It’s crazy to think Abigail Breslin is only 30 years old, since she’s been on our screens forever. Or, maybe I should just feel incredibly old since the little girl from Signs will have a big birthday come April 14. Breslin’s career since then has included Oscar and BAFTA nominations for Little Miss Sunshine and roles in Zombieland, Scream Queens and even an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Dove Cameron

Another former Disney kid will celebrate three decades of life, as Dove Cameron — who got her start playing the titular dual roles on Liv and Maddie before starring in the Descendants movies as Mal — turns 30 on January 15.

Bella Hadid

Bella Hadid, who has been modeling since she was 16, will mark her 30th birthday on October 9, undoubtedly surrounded by her famous family members — including fellow model Gigi Hadid — and celebrity friends.

Skyler Gisondo

Known most recently for his role as Jimmy Olsen in 2025’s Superman, Skyler Gisondo may be best recognized as the nerdy neighbor Eric from Santa Clarita Diet. He’s compiled around 75 credits as he turns 30 on July 22, dating all the way back to episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond in 2005. This year he’ll star opposite Ariana Grande in Focker In-Law, the latest in Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro’s Meet the Parents franchise.

Anya Taylor-Joy

Getting her acting start in her late teens, Anya Taylor-Joy has starred in projects like The Queen's Gambit — for which she won a Golden Globe — and The Menu. This year, in addition to turning 30 on April 16, she’ll reprise her role as Alia Atreides in Dune: Part Three.

Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh has become quite the celebrated actress since making her debut in 2014. At 30 years old (as of January 3), Pugh has been nominated for an Oscar for Little Women with other credits including Midsommar, Don’t Worry Darling, Oppenheimer, We Live in Time, and the second and third Dune movies, to name a few. She also managed to find time to terrify people with her nipples.

Sophie Turner

It’s kind of hard to believe Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones is hitting the big 3-0 in 2026 on February 21. The HBO epic was her first screen credit, but she’s gone on to other projects and is set to star as Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider series.

Noah Centineo

Noah Centineo’s recurring role as Dallas on Austin & Ally kicked off his career with the Disney Channel in 2011. He continued with small roles with the House of Mouse until joining The Fosters in 2015 and ultimately landed the role of Peter Kavinsky in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before movies and the XO, Kitty spinoff. He’s also recently starred in The Recruit and has a couple of projects in the works for 2026, not including whatever is in store for his 30th birthday celebration on May 9.

There are a surprising number of celebrities hitting their milestone three-decade birthday this year. We may have known a lot of them from work they did as a child actor or teenager, but their careers will continue into their 30s. In addition to keeping your eye out for them on the big screen, be sure to also check out the 2026 TV schedule to find some of the thirty-somethings there.

A great performance from a precocious young actor can steal scenes and even entire movies and TV shows. Like the kids on this list, who have so much personality at such a young age it's crazy. From TV stars like Gary Coleman on Diff'rent Strokes to supporting roles in movies that end up being the most-talked-about bits of the films, like Jonathan Lipnicki in Jerry Maguire, these kids are just oozing charm and talent. 

Shirley Temple

You can't have a list like this without the original Hollywood kid star, the great Shirley Temple. Though Temple acted in films into her late teens before retiring in 1950, she is really best remembered for her roles as a clever witty kid in movies like 1935's Curly Top and 1936's Stowaway. After Temple retired, she went on to have a successful career as a spokesperson and even a foreign diplomat. 

Macaulay Culkin

There are very few kids that could ever carry a movie, much less a franchise, like Macaulay Culkin did with the Home Alone movies. The first movie is one of the most successful movies of all time, and while the entire cast of Home Alone is amazing, the movie would not be the same with anyone else as Kevin McCallister. 

Quvenzhané Wallis

Quvenzhané Wallis' performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild is, in all senses, a revelation. Her performance is so powerful and nuanced on a level that even many adult actors can't match. It was so good, that Wallis became the youngest actress ever nominated for an Academy Award. 

Ke Huy Quan

Ke Huy Quan comeback with his amazing, award-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once was the feel-good story of 2022. It came, of course, four decades after he first blew audiences away with roles like Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom and Data in The Goonies, where he showed just how much personality a kid can have on screen. 

Peter Billingsley

For a generation of kids, A Christmas Story is THE definite Christmas movie. It was so popular that for a time, it would run a loop on cable TV around the holiday. Of course, while the whole cast is memorable, Peter Billingsley's role as Ralphie is the one people talk about the most. 

Soleil Moon Frye

The 1980s were awash with precocious kids leading shows and few were on a higher level than Punky Brewster. The lead character, played by Soleil Moon Frye, found herself in all kinds of spots, usually funny, though sometimes serious and Frye could handle it all. 

Emmanuel Lewis

For six seasons, Emmanuel Lewis brought joy to American homes as the orphaned Webster in the show with the same name. Like others in the decade, Lewis carried a network show with his comedic timing and cuteness. The diminutive Lewis, who was diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism, used his condition to his advantage, not to mention his great acting, to get people laughing everywhere. 

The Olsen Twins

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are examples of kids who left acting behind, but their joint performance as Michelle Tanner in Full House will always be beloved by fans of the show. The twins both had enough personality to fill a soundstage when they played the role, starting when they were just babies. Incredible. 

Haley Joel Osment

Haley Joel Osment's big break came as the intense kid who could see dead people in The Sixth Sense. Like a few others on this list, he's a child star who is still acting today and it's not hard to see why given the talent he displayed at just 11 years old. 

Millie Bobby Brown

By the time Millie Bobby Brown was the ripe old age of 12, when she first starred in Stranger Things on Netflix, the actress was a seasoned vet. She had already had regular roles on a couple of TV shows both in the US and her native UK and had made a number of guest appearances on shows like NCIS and Grey's Anatomy. Of course, it would as a Eleven in Stranger Things that really proved how great she is. 

Christian Bale

Christian Bale is one of the best actors of his generation, something he started to prove very early in his life when he took on the starring role of a war orphan in  Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Bale was only 13 at the time and his performance is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It's hard to fathom the ability to do that as barely a teenager. 

Gary Coleman

There isn't a more famous catchphrase from 1980s TV than "Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Of course, those words were part of seemingly every single episode of Diff'rent Strokes. Gary Coleman's role as Arnold, the orphaned kid taken in, with his brother, by Mr Drummond was one of the most popular characters of the decade.  

Anna Chlumsky

While Macaulay Culkin was the big "star" of My Girl when it was released, his counterpart, played by Anna Chlumsky is every bit as charming as wonderful as Caulkin. Chlumsky's talents were on full display as a kid, talents that would eventually earn her many Emmy nominations for her work as an adult in Veep.

Jonathan Lipnicki

Let's be honest, is there a cuter kid than Jonathan Lipnicki in Jerry Maguire? His charm and unintentional wit is totally off the charts in the rom-com. He even knows how much a human head weighs (8 pounds) and that bees and dogs smell fear. No too shabby. 

Tatum O'Neal

When Tatum O'Neal won the Oscar for starring alongside her father, Ryan O'Neal, in  Paper Moon in 1974 she became the youngest person to ever win the award at just age 10. That pretty much says it all. While other kids have been nominated, she was the first kid to win. She continued to show her talents and personality in movies like The Bad News Bears and Nickelodeon before personal problems derailed her promising career. 

Henry Thomas

Acor Henry Thomas has had a long career in TV and on film, but the movies we all best remember are when he was a child actor full of skill and personality in movies like E.T. and the underrated Cloak & Dagger. E.T. was one of the most successful movies of all time and is ranked as one of Steven Spielberg's best movies, thanks in large part to Thomas' performance. 

Jaleel White

It's true that Steve Urkel on Family Matters is one of the more polarizing characters in TV history, but Jaleel White's performance as the nerdy neighbor shouldn't be controversial. He was perfect in the role and people are still making references to it decades later, which tells you all you need to know. 

Hailee Steinfeld

In literature, there are few kids with more personality than Mattie Ross in Charles Portis' classic novel True Grit. It takes a young actor with an equally big personality to play her on-screen and in the Coen Brother's 2010 adaption, Hailee Steinfeld just crushes the role. 

Drew Barrymore

When you come from Hollywood royalty, like the Barrymore family, you'd better have some acting chops. Drew Barrymore proved just how great she was before she was even seven years old when she starred in her breakout role as Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She continued acting as a kid in movies like Firestarter and Irreconcilable Differences, before moving on to adult roles and eventually, her own talk show. 

Keshia Knight Pulliam

The Cosby Show was among the most popular shows of the 1980s and while Bill Cosby was undoubtedly the star of the show, Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played the youngest Huxtable child, Rudy, stole a TON of scenes in every season. Who could ever forget the lip-syncing scenes with the whole family, and not immediately recall her legendary moments in those scenes? 

Hayley Mills

How about not one, but two roles that prove just how much personality one child actor can show off? For Hayley Mills, The Parent Trap wasn't her first movie, but it is the one most remembered from her child-acting days. She plays both twins in the movie and does it so well, that you'd swear it would have to be two people, even though they look alike. 

Abigail Breslin

Little Miss Sunshine was the surprise hit of 2006 and that was in no small part (pun intended) to Abigail Breslin's brilliant performance as Olive, the girl at the heart of the dysfunctional family's road trip. you know someone is a star when they stand out from a cast that includes Alan Arkin, Paul Dano, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette.

Anna Paquin

These days Anna Paquin is probably best known for her work in the X-Men series, but she really burst onto the scene as an 11-year-old in The Piano, for which she became one of the youngest actors to ever win an Academy Award. More than three decades later she's still lighting up the screen. 

Alfonso Ribeiro

In the 1980s television was filled with precocious kids tearing it up on shows like Silver Spoons. Ricky Schroeder may have been the star as young Ricky, a role that launched his career, but his best friend, Alfonso, played by Alfonso Ribeiro, stole a lot of the scenes he was in. After Silver Spoons, Ribeiro danced into our hearts as Carlton on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. 

Natalie Portman

It is undeniable that Natalie Portman is one of the finest actors of her generation and her career all started when she was just 12 in Leon: The Professional. It's a complicated role, one that even many adult actors would struggle with, but Portman showed right away just what kind of acting chops she had in the movie. It's a challenging role for audiences, thanks to her fantastic performance. 

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano's career has gone through some peaks and valleys, like many actors. One of the highest peaks came when she was just a kid, starring as Samantha in Who's The Boss?, a classic '80s sitcom. Tony Danza played her father and the chemistry between them was legendary. Maybe one day we'll get that reboot we've been waiting for. 

Jerry Mathers

In the whole history of American television, one of the most enduring characters has to be from its golden age in the 1950s, Beaver Cleaver. Played by Jerry Mathers, The Beav was an instant hit with kids and parents alike and the show ran for decades in reruns all over the country. Mathers even returned to play The Beaver during the Baby Boomer nostalgia fad of the 1980s. 

Keisha Castle-Hughes

When Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Oscar in her breakout role in The Whale Rider, she was the youngest person to ever receive that honor. Her performance is fully deserving of the praise she received and she's continued to receive well-earned praise for her roles in Game of Thrones as Obara Sand, and as Hana Gibson in FBI.

Jodie Foster

Playing a role like Jodie Foster played in Taxi Driver takes a truly special actor. Foster, who was just 14 when she played the complicated role, has gone on to have an incredible and empowering career in Hollywood, but it's hard to imagine her having a tougher assignment than that part, with such adult complications, in Taxi Driver. 

Dafne Keen

There is something so magical about kids playing roles that really wrestle with adult themes and one of the best recent examples is Dafne Keen in Logan. It's a complicated role, dealing with complicated subjects and Keen is sublime throughout the movie. 

Heather O'Rourke

Heather O'Rouke's all too tragic life was taken way too soon. The Poltergeist star died when she was just 12 years old, but in those 12 years, she left a heck of an impression on the world. Her performance in Poltergeist completely steals the legendary horror film. 

Natalie Wood

While Natalie Wood is too often remembered for all the wrong reasons, in her short life (she died when she was just 43), she packed a ton of memorable performances in that life. One of the most enduring has to be her role in Miracle on 34th Street, which came when she was just 9 years old. 

When you've been around as long as NCIS has, there are bound to be a ton of big stars who have made cameos or had early roles in their career on the show. Some of the biggest stars of today have popped up on the long-running CBS procedural. Here is a list of quite a few stars who have appeared on NCIS.

Millie Bobby Brown

Before Millie Bobby Brown hit the really big time as Eleven in Stranger Things, she was working steadily from a young age. One of her first roles on American television came in Episode 6 of Season 12 of NCIS back in 2014. She had only had a couple of roles before it. 

Glen Powell

Glen Powell has emerged as one of the biggest stars around. His first huge break came in Top Gun Maverick, and even though that made him an A-lister, he'd been a working actor for decades at that point, going back to roles he had as a kid. An early role in his adulthood came in Season 10 of NCIS, where he played a Marine in a double episode. 

Lily Tomlin

You just never knew who might show up on NCIS. In Season 9 viewers were treated to an appearance by the legendary Lily Tomlin. In true Tomlin style, she plays a quirky but capable grandmother to one of the team members, McGee (Sean Murray). 

Billy Dee Williams

If fans ever wondered why Gibbs (Mark Harmon) had the first name Jethro, they learned why in Season 10. In the episode, the great Billy Dee Williams plays Jethro Moore, a World War II hero, and Gibbs' father's best friend. Moore and the older Gibbs had had a falling out, but by the end, the younger Gibbs had smoothed everything out between them. 

Jamie Lee Curtis

Hollywood legend Jamie Lee Curtis had a bit more than just a cameo. On the show she played Dr. Samantha Ryan over five episodes towards the end of Season 9 plays a possible love interest for Gibbs, but alas it was not meant to be and she is forced to go into hiding, never to be heard from again on the show. 

Terry O'Quinn

In the early days of NCIS, there was another show about to make its network debut: Lost. It turns out that quite a few actors who became known for their roles on Lost also popped up on NCIS around the same time. One is none other than John Locke himself, Terry O'Quinn. O'Quinn plays a Marine Colonel in an episode in the show's first season. 

Danica McKellar

Danica McKellar is best known as Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years. She also had a great, if somewhat brief, run in The West Wing as Will's sister. On NCIS, she appeared in the Season 2 episode called "Witness," as the titular witness of a crime. In the years since McKellar has found a home in made-for-TV Christmas movies and remains popular with her fans. 

Sean Astin

Sean Astin has carved out a pretty amazing career. His very first role, as Mikey in The Goonies, is one of the most beloved movie characters of all time. Plus he was in that little trilogy known as the Lord of the Rings, something he was nervous about. More recently, he was a key cast member of Stranger Things. In between, he was never not working, including a guest spot in Season 9 of NCIS. 

Taye Diggs

You could say that Taye Diggs got back to his roots in his guest appearance in Season 13. While Diggs plays a Marine on the show, he's a marine with the voice of an angel and at the end of the show, Diggs sings "Hallelujah" with the help of the real-life MusiCorps Wounded Warrior Band. Diggs, of course, got his start on Broadway in musicals like Carousel and Rent. 

Samantha Logan

Samantha Logan is best known for roles in Netflix's 12 Reasons Why and CW's All American, but before both of those roles she played the daughter of a character played by Taye Diggs on NCIS. Logan made her acting debut way back in 2009 when she was just 13 and had a small role in Gossip Girl. 

Bob Newhart

What can we say about the late, great Bob Newhart? His TV career is the stuff of legends with two massively popular shows that bore his name and for a younger generation, he'll always be Will Farrell's character's adoptive father in Elf. He also popped up in NCIS, playing a character very much in his wheelhouse. 

Jon Cryer

Jon Cryer started his career in some classic '80s movies like Pretty In Pink and Morgan Stewart's Coming Home. In the 2000s, he became a TV legend as one of the men in Two and a Half Men. He's since even played Lex Luthor, in the Supergirl TV show. Somehow he also found the time to pop into an episode of NCIS playing a battlefield doctor. 

Drew Carey

He started in stand-up. Then had a hit show named after himself. Then he became a superstar of daytime TV as the host of The Price is Right. Drew Carey has done it all, including showing up for one episode of NCIS as a retired marine. Carey was a marine in real life, so the role is actually perfect.  

Michelle Obama

Okay, okay so technically Michelle Obama isn't an actress, but she did show up in one episode of NCIS while she was First Lady of the United States. She played herself of course, there's no way she could be anyone but herself, right? She welcomed Gibbs and others to the White in an episode called "Homefront."

Abigail Breslin

As one of the youngest Oscar nominees ever, at age 10, you might think that Abigail Breslin just burst on the scene in Little Miss Sunshine. That's not the case though. Breslin was already a working actor with a bunch of credits on her resume, including a supporting role in one episode of NCIS in the Season 2 premiere. 

Sterling K. Brown

The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actor Sterling K. Brown was a veteran of prime-time TV long before his own show, This Is Us, made people cry every week. As he was coming up in Hollywood, he popped up on all kinds of network shows, including one episode of NCIS in 2013.

Dean Norris

Dean Norris is most famous for Breaking Bad, but he's been snagging roles for decades. One role was as a Marine in a very early episode of NCIS. In Episode 12 of Season 1, Norris plays a soldier with a past run-in with Gibbs when Gibbs was still an MP.

Zac Efron

Zac Efron became a huge star thanks to movies like High School Musical and Neighbors, but he was a child long before those movies exploded. One of his early roles came in a Season 3 episode of NCIS where he played a trouble-making kid that he was perfect for. 

Jesse Plemons

A quick glance at Jessie Plemons resume will show that the actor took the long road to fame. While he would eventually be leading men and key supporting characters in some of Hollywood's biggest movies, he started more humbly. One such example is his role as a teenager getting in trouble with the team at NCIS on the show. 

Colin Hanks

Tom Hanks is often called "America's Dad" and so that must make Colin Hanks our collective brother, right? Well, maybe not, but he is a great actor in his own right and he shows it in roles like the one he starred in on NCIS in two episodes at the end of Season 10. 

Sherilyn Fenn

As one of the breakout stars of Twin Peaks in the '90s, Sherilyn Fenn is no stranger to network TV. With over 100 credits to her name on IMDB, she's been on shows all over the dial over the last 30 years or so. One of those credits came in Season 1 of NCIS.

Josh Holloway

Josh Holloway's star shined the brightest when he starred as Sawyer in Lost starting in the fall of 2004. Just a few months before that, he played a local sheriff in Season 1 of NCIS. Since then, he's been a regular in shows like Yellowstone, Colony, and Intelligence. 

Frank Whaley

It's crazy to think that Frank Whaley's career goes all the way back to the '80s. IT's even crazier to realize he's over 60 years old now. The guy hasn't aged a day since Career Opportunities in 1991. Come to think of it, neither has his co-star in that movie, Jennifer Connelly. Connelly, however, hasn't been in an episode of NCIS and Whaley has, playing an escaped convict. 

Jim Rash

Jim Rash is most beloved for playing the hapless dean of the community college in Community, but he's been in tons of over shows. He's been in some quirky shows too, like a voice role in Mike Tyson's Mysteries and as a semi-regular on Reno 911!. He's a writer as well, co-writing the George Clooney movie The Descendants. He also found time to star in an episode of NCIS way back in it's first season. 

Julie Benz

Julie Benz's first big TV role was on Buffy The Vampire Slayer and later its spinoff Angel, playing Darla. Later she was a regular on Hawaii Five-O and Defiance. In Episode 22 of Season 1 of NCIS, Benz played the grieving wife of a soldier. 

Emilie De Ravin

It turns out that NCIS was a good place for cast members of Lost to star right before they all got super famous on the ABC show. Emilie de Ravin is one of those stars who appeared in a Season 1 episode of the show just like her fellow Lost cast members Josh Holloway and Terry O'Quinn. 

Bellamy Young

Before Bellamy Young became a regular on the hit show Scandal, she worked on a lot of shows on TV, including two early episodes of Law & Order, where she played two different roles, something it turns out a lot of actors did. Young played an undercover ATF agent in an episode in Season 1 of NCIS.

Daphne Zuniga

For anyone who grew up in the 1980s, Daphne Zuniga will always be Princess Vesper in Mel Brooks' classic Space Balls and Alison in The Sure Thing alongside John Cusack. In the 2020s she was still turning in great performances, like that of a Navy commander with very questionable motives in a Season 17 episode of NCIS.

Zoe Perry

In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon's mother was played by the great Laurie Metcalfe. When the spinoff Young Shelton hit the airwaves. Zoe Perry took over the role and played it perfectly. She had a lot of experience at that point, including a guest spot as a police officer in two episodes of NCIS during the show's 13th season.

Ray Wise

Ray Wise is one of the great character actors of his generation. He's most famous for playing Leland Palmer, the father-turned-murderer in Twin Peaks, but his career stretches back to the 1960s. On NCIS he plays the father of a guy who thinks he's a superhero, which as you can imagine, he has no patience for in Episode 15 of Season 9. 

Tyler Ritter

Actor Tyler Ritter, who is the son of the beloved John Ritter, seems to pop up all over the place. He's played a detective in Arrow, he was in Homecoming, and he played  Abby Sciuto's (Pauley Perrette) brother Luca in an NCIS crossover event with NCIS: New Orleans when the spinoff began. 

Don Lake

You might not know his name, but you know his face, especially if you are a fan of the Christopher Quest-verse. Don Lake was a cast member in Waiting for Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration, and even Mascots. Usually, he plays the straight man, but that doesn't mean he's not hilarious. Even in serious roles, like his in a Season 17 episode of NCIS, you can't help but crack a smile when he's on screen. 

The phrase “former child star” is most often associated with someone who was famous when they were much younger, but is not quite as well-known — or, perhaps, does not even act anymore — as a grown-up. Yet, for every starlet who has risen and fallen, there are just as many who have beaten the odds and have gone onto bigger and better things as adults, like these beloved celebrities.

Macaulay Culkin

The first person you might think of when you think of “former child stars” could be Macaulay Culkin, who was on top of the world when he led the original Home Alone cast as Kevin McCallister. While his notoriety would slow in subsequent years, it is always a treat to see him show up in ensembles like the American Horror Story Season 10 cast or Kid Cudi’s Entergalactic cast.

Lukas Haas

Lukas Haas was one of the most acclaimed young actors of his time with leading roles in 1985’s Witness, opposite Harrison Ford, and the underrated ghost story, Lady in White, from 1988. He has since made a living taking smaller roles in otherwise big movies like Inception and Babylon, plus he's shown up on TV shows like The Righteous Gemstones and War of the Worlds.

Jurnee Smollett

With an Emmy nomination for HBO’s Lovecraft Country, a scene-stealing role in DC’s Birds of Prey, and a stellar turn in Amazon Prime’s The Burial, Jurnee Smollett has established herself as one of the strongest talents of her time. However, that was already clear with her recurring role in Full House and her astonishing performance in 1997’s acclaimed Black horror movie, Eve’s Bayou, when she was still a child.

Jason Bateman

From his debut role on Little House on the Prairie to his years on the sitcom Valerie (which would become The Hogan Family), Jason Bateman showed great versatility as a performer in his younger years. He has upheld that reputation ever since, as seen by his Emmy-nominated work leading the Arrested Development cast and, later, the Ozark cast. His ability to shift from starring in funny movies like Horrible Bosses to dramas like Air is remarkable.

Dakota Fanning

Racking up more than 20 credits before she turned 10, Dakota Fanning was everywhere in the early 2000s — catching the attention of filmmakers like Steven Spielberg for War of the Worlds and holding her own against actors like Robert DeNiro in Hide and Seek. Save her age, nothing much has changed for the actor, who appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast and reunited with her Man on Fire co-star, Denzel Washington, in 2023’s The Equalizer 3.

Ryan Gosling

A 13-year-old Ryan Gosling entered show business as a Mouseketeer, paving the way for him to star in back-to-back scary anthology TV shows for kids (Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps), lead Young Hercules, and more. Leading 2004’s The Notebook cast paved the way for him to be an action hero in Drive and Blade Runner 2049. On top of all that, he also earned Oscar nominations for Half Nelson and La La Land, and made us laugh as part of the The Nice Guys ensemble and the Barbie cast as Ken.

Brie Larson

After some faux ads on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show marked her debut at 9, Brie Larson went on to star in a family sitcom with the late Bob Saget (Raising Dad), was in a YA novel adaptation (Hoot), and she even had a singing career in her teens. Now, she is a comic book movie star (for appearing in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and playing the MCU’s Captain Marvel), and she has an Oscar for Room from 2015.

Kenan Thompson

On All That — Nickelodeon’s answer to Saturday Night Live — one of the young cast’s most prominent breakouts was Kenan Thompson, who went on to co-lead his own kid-friendly sitcom with Kel Mitchell, aptly named Kenan & Kel. The Emmy winner went on to break the record for longest-running SNL actor and lead his own adult sitcom, Kenan.

David Krumholtz

After making his debut playing a child actor in 1993’s Life with Mikey, David Krumholtz became a prominent child actor with roles in Addams Family Values as Wednesday’s love interest and Tim Allen’s head elf, Bernard, in The Santa Clause. The crime procedural, Numb3rs, earned him greater recognition, leading to a career that includes lending his voice to Sausage Party, appearing in the Oppenheimer cast, and reprising Bernard on Disney+’s series, The Santa Clauses.

Neil Patrick Harris

Playing a kid genius on Doogie Howser M.D. made Neil Patrick Harris a household name, which he acknowledged when he later played himself in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Of course, the five-time Emmy winner is better known today as Barney Stinson from the How I Met Your Mother cast, Count Olaf on Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and so much more.

Josh Brolin

At 17, first-time actor Josh Brolin immediately made his mark on pop culture as part of the Goonies cast in the role of Brand Walsh. However, he really got heads turning at 39 when he starred in one of the best movies of the 2000s, No Country for Old Men. The son of Hollywood veteran James Brolin has an Oscar nomination for Milk and multiple comic book movie roles under his belt (Jonah Hex, MCU’s Thanos, and Cable in Deadpool 2), among other great achievements. 

Haley Joel Osment

After debuting in Forrest Gump and starring on The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Haley Joel Osment’s Oscar-nominated performance in, arguably, the best M. Night Shyamalan movie, 1999’s The Sixth Sense, made him a sensation. He went on to earn leading parts in Pay It Forward and Steven Spielberg’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. More recently, Osment has been known to pop up in the most unexpected places — Kevin Smith’s Tusk, a guest role on The Boys, Netflix's animated fantasy series Dogs in Space, to name a few — but always with grand results.

Ethan Hawke

After debuting in Joe Dante’s Explorers at 15, Ethan Hawke only grew in prominence in his later teens and throughout his 20s by starring in Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, etc. He went on to earn Academy Award nominations for Training Day and Boyhood. He completed Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy with 2013’s Before Midnight, became a Scream King with great horror movies like Sinister, and he's done a fair amount of work behind the scenes, too.

Abigail Breslin

Just four years after M. Night Shyamalan gave 6-year-old Abigail Breslin her big break with Signs, her role in the Little Miss Sunshine cast made her one of the youngest Oscar nominees of all time. As she matured, so would her roles — such as a teenage murder suspect in Stillwater or a vigilante in the Accused cast for Fox.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik stole the show from the Big Bang Theory cast as Amy Farrah Fowler and later led Fox’s Call Me Kat in the title role. However, the Jeopardy! host’s status as sitcom royalty dates back to the ‘90s as the star of Blossom.

Brenda Song

Perhaps Brenda Song’s most iconic character is London Tipton from the Suite Life franchise — which is just one of the roles that made her a prominent Disney Channel star. Beyond the children’s cable giant, she was in one of the best David Fincher movies, The Social Network, led Netflix’s Secret Obsession, and had a main role in Hulu’s Dollface.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Despite being removed for disruptive behavior when making his show business debut on Romper Room at 3 years old (as he revealed to David Letterman), Leonardo DiCaprio went on to lead a winning child actor’s career that included a season on Growing Pains and an Academy Award nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Things would only get better as he grew up, earning even more Oscar nominations — and one win for The Revenant — and becoming as important to Martin Scorsese’s filmography as his This Boy’s Life co-star, Robert DeNiro, whom he reunited with in 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Tyler James Williams

Tyler James Williams started out appearing on Sesame Street before landing the title role of Chris Rock’s autobiographical sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris. Following an acclaimed indie comedy (Dear White People) and a recurring role on the Walking Dead cast, the actor became sitcom royalty again when he joined the Abbott Elementary cast, which earned him multiple Emmy nods.

Kurt Russell

Former Disney star Kurt Russell made his feature debut in 1963’s It Happened at the World’s Fair alongside Elvis Presley, and he went on to play him in a made-for-TV biopic and Forrest Gump. Several great movie roles later, Russell is one of the top action heroes of all time, and now he's working with his family by joining the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters cast alongside his son, Wyatt, who is playing his younger self.

Jodie Foster

After getting her start on TV at a very young age (the first gig being The Doris Day Show), Jodie Foster got a head start on the more mature roles she would become known for when she appeared in Taxi Driver at 14. The two-time Academy Award winner (for The Accused and Best Picture Oscar winner The Silence of the Lambs) would continue to work from both in front of and behind the camera.

Johnny Galecki

In 1989, 14-year-old Johnny Galecki appeared as Rusty in the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation cast, and he also starred in another holiday classic, Prancer. I would not be surprised if many did not realize that Leonard from The Big Bang Theory was the same actor, but they were likely more hip to that fact by the time he reprised his role from Roseanne, David Healy, on The Conners.

Miranda Cosgrove

Even with Jack Black in the lead, Miranda Cosgrove stole the show in 2003’s School of Rock, and she went on to do the same thing as the evil Megan in the Nickelodeon sitcom, Drake & Josh. One of her most notable credits as an adult was a Paramount+ exclusive revival of iCarly — another Nickelodeon show she led as a teen.

Keke Palmer

Her bombastic debut role in Barbershop 2: Back in Business made it clear that then-9-year-old Keke Palmer was a powerhouse talent. The Emmy winner would continue to demonstrate her skill as the lead of Akeelah and the Bee and much later in life as part of Jordan Peele’s Nope cast.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar

While Zach Morris from the Saved by the Bell cast is still the role he is best known for — he even reprised it in a Peacock exclusive revival — Mark-Paul Gosselaar managed to prove his versatility in later years. He had a successful stint as a detective on NYPD Blue, played a rebellious lawyer on Franklin & Bash, and an abusive captor in NBC’s Found.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Before starring on the great ‘90s TV show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Joseph Gordon-Levitt made multiple TV appearances and starred in classic movies like Angels in the Outfield and A River Runs Through It. These days, he is best known for his many collaborations with Rian Johnson, his Golden Globe-nominated turns in (500) Days of Summer and 50/50, and running the creative collaboration platform HitRecord.

Sean Astin

Before playing the title role of Rudy and starring in the Lord of the Rings movies as Sam, Sean Astin was best known as Mikey in The Goonies. In addition to his accomplished voice acting career, one of his most celebrated roles as of late is Bob Newby from the Season 2 cast of Stranger Things — a show very much inspired by The Goonies.

Kirsten Dunst

After making her film debut in star-studded The Bonfire of the Vanities, Kirsten Dunst really made an impression at 12 playing a 70-year-old bloodsucker in Interview with the Vampire. Starring in the Spider-Man movies as Mary Jane Watson swung her right into the A-list and, in 2022, she received an Academy Award nomination for The Power of the Dog.

Kieran Culkin

With his roles in the Home Alone movies and in Steve Martin movies (both parts of Father of the Bride), it seemed like Kieran Culkin was on his way to the same level of stardom as his brother, Macaulay. However, it was not until later in life when he was thrice Emmy-nominated for starring in HBO’s Succession cast that he became the star he was destined to be.

Selena Gomez

Before leading Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place made Selena Gomez a star, she got her start on Barney in the early 2000s. She now has two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her performance on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building cast and a Daytime Emmy nod for her Max original cooking show, Selena + Chef.

Elle Fanning

Before breaking out in the Super 8 cast, Elle Fanning’s claim to fame for a while was starring as a younger version of sister, Dakota, in I Am Sam and Taken. Now, she has an Emmy nomination for leading Hulu’s The Great, which is just one of the many Victorian-era roles she has played in more recent years.

Christina Ricci

For years, Christina Ricci’s performance in Barry Sonnenfeld’s Addams Family movies was the definitive iteration of young Wednesday Addams. The Yellowjackets cast member got to revisit those days with her supporting role on Netflix’s Wednesday cast, opposite Jenna Ortega in the lead this time.

Danica McKellar

Some of the most memorably endearing moments from the original Wonder Years involved Danica McKellar’s Winnie Cooper and her puppy love relationship with Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold. Romance is a big part of the actor’s career these days, primarily appearing in popular Hallmark movies like Christmas She Wrote and Swing into Romance.

Knowing the kind of career they would one day lead, I am sure these celebrities wear their “former child star” identities as a badge of honor.

Abigail Breslin and Evan Ellingson played siblings in the Jodi Picoult movie adaptation of My Sister’s Keeper. Breslin stepped in after Dakota and Elle Fanning dropped out playing Anna who, along with her brother, experiences the tough situation of watching their other sibling tackle cancer. Last Sunday Ellingson passed away at the age of 35, and his on-screen sister has paid tribute to her co-star in the wake of his death.

On Sunday morning, Evan Ellingson passed away at the age of 35 in his bedroom at his home in Fontana, California. He was known for his role as Jesse in My Sister’s Keeper, was part of 24’s sixth season playing Jack Bauer’s nephew, and played the son of Lt. Horatio Caine in CSI: Miami. The late actor was honored by his My Sister’s Keeper costar Abigail Breslin on Instagram, who spoke about what kind of person Ellingson was and their time working on the movie. Take a look at the heartwarming tribute below:

What a beautiful tribute the Oscar nominee gave. It’s been over ten years since My Sister’s Keeper came out, but it looks like Abigail Breslin still has fresh memories of her late co-star that have stood out to her the most. She spoke about what a talented performance he gave for their drama film together, and his funny personality on set as he soaked up that Red Bull-- to Breslin’s chagrin. While she said the two didn’t keep in touch after the movie finished, the Zombieland actor still felt lucky to have known him. That last line of her tribute hit me hard when she said, “maybe one day, I’ll meet you in Montana.” This was a throwback to the Nick Cassavetes movie, as the siblings at the end met in Montana to honor the sister they lost.

Evan Ellingson really did give such a memorable performance playing Jesse Fitzgerald in My Sister’s Keeper. His part was trimmed down a lot compared to the Jodi Picoult novel, but I think he still knocked it out of the park. While Abigail Breslin’s role involved being spare parts for her cancer-stricken sister Kate, Ellingson played a member of the Fitzgerald family who proved himself to be a talented artist. But facing neglect by his family, Jesse would take secret late-night trips to the city. Ellingson showed the complexity of Jesse wanting the attention of his family even if he meant scolding him for sneaking only for Kate to still be prioritized. The Bones actor’s standout moment was the courtroom scene when the character confronted his family on the reality of why Anna doesn’t want to give her kidney to her sister. It was the scene that tied everything together and really showed Ellingson’s acting chops.

After My Sister’s Keeper, Abigail Breslin grew up on the big screen starring in Zombieland, one of the best movies of 2009, and reprising the role of Little Rock in Zombieland: Double Tap. She also tackled emotionally heavy scenes with Matt Damon in Stillwater and told the story of the origins of the Miranda warning in Miranda’s Victim. The Little Miss Sunshine actress is now all grown up and recently married her longtime boyfriend Ira Kunyansky in January. Breslin has one upcoming movie called Classified with the action thriller currently in post-production co-starring Aaron Eckhart and Tim Roth.

Evan Ellingson’s life may have been cut tragically short, but he’s clearly made a strong impact on the people grateful to have known him like Abigail Breslin. Take a look at our 2024 movie releases just in case her latest films show up there.

These days, most people tend to associate the concept of anthology TV shows with either the horror genre or science fiction, such as with The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. However, there are a number of exceptions, including Netflix’s romantic dramedy Easy or the case-of-the-season crime thriller Fargo. The latest example of the latter (despite being a case-of-the-week format) is Accused.

An American counterpart to the British series of the same name created by BAFTA Award winner Jimmy McGovern, each episode of this new drama — premiering on Fox tonight at 9 p.m. ET — follows a different individual who becomes embroiled in a situation that puts their innocence into question. It seems like a concept likely to breed very powerful stories and which will require a rotation of powerful actors. Luckily, the Accused cast features some of the most talented performers of their time, whom will we name for you below, along with reminders of what they are known best for.

Michael Chiklis

The only other time Michael Chiklis — who also directs an episode of Accused — appeared on an anthology series was as strongman Dell Toledo on the fourth season of the creepy TV series favorite, American Horror Story. However, crime TV shows have been a frequent recurrence in his career since his debut on an episode of Miami Vice — leading to more prominent starring roles on series like FX’s The Shield, which earned him an Emmy Award, and the Paramount+ miniseries, Coyote. 

He also has a few comic book adaptations under his belt (such as two Fantastic Four movies as The Thing), had a guest spot on Seinfeld you might not remember, and some of his most notable films include 2000’s made-for-TV Three Stooges biopic (as Curly) and the Oscar-nominated satire, Don’t Look Up.

Abigail Breslin

The last time Abigail Breslin played a young woman accused of a horrible crime was in Stillwater, and the last time she, technically, starred in an anthology series was on Ryan Murphy’s horror-comedy Scream Queens as Chanel #5. In fact — outside of her Oscar-nominated role in the Little Miss Sunshine cast — she is best known for some great horror movies, such as one of M. Night Shyamalan’s greatest hits, Signs, and both of the Zombieland movies (two of the all-time best horror-comedy films) as Little Rock. 

The singer and actor is also known for lighter movies like Raising Helen (also starring her sibling, Spencer), romantic comedies like No Reservations and Definitely, Maybe, and family films such as Rango and Nim’s Island.

Whitney Cummings

Another actor who is known for horror-comedy (namely Studio 666, which also counts as a musical horror comedy) is Whitney Cummings, although Accused marks a rare case of the comedian taking on a more serious role, the last of which was in 2017’s Unforgettable. 

The humorous titles Cummings is best known for include 2008’s Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey, The Ridiculous 6 (one of Adam Sandler’s Netflix originals), The Wedding Ringer with Kevin Hart and Josh Gad, and the apocalyptic, How It Ends, from 2021. The co-creator of 2 Broke Girls and sole creator her own short-lived, self-titled sitcom has also played herself a number of times — including on The Jim Gaffigan Show, Maron, and Crashing — and made her directorial debut in 2017 with The Female Brain.

Margo Martindale

An Accused cast member known for both anthology TV shows (such as the Bill Clinton-focused third season of American Crime Story) and anthology movies (namely the European romance Paris, je t’aime) is Abigail Breslin’s August Osage County co-star, Margo Martindale, who has also won three Emmy Awards for crime TV shows (one for her recurring role in the Justified cast and two for The Americans). 

Her feature-length credits are just as versatile, such as 1990’s Days of Thunder (her film debut), Dead Man Walking from 1995, The Hours in 2002, and 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which is barely scratching the surface. As for Martindale’s other notable TV work, you may have recognized her voice on Bojack Horseman as herself, from her starring role in Netflix’s The Watcher cast, and her recent reprisal on Showtime’s Your Honor.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Also known for having a versatile repertoire, especially on the small screen, is Michael Chiklis’ American Horror Story: Freak Show co-star, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who is most recognized for his Emmy-nominated breakout role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show. 

This led to a career of many more sitcoms (including Malcolm & Eddie, Reed Between the Lines, and his recurring role alongside the Community cast as Shirley’s ex-husband) but also plenty of serious dramas, like his recurring role on Sons of Anarchy and starring role in The Resident cast, more recently. Warner’s best-known movies include 1998’s Restaurant and Fool’s Gold with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

Wendell Pierce

An Accused cast member with an eclectic career in both film and TV is Michael Chiklis’ Parker co-star, Wendell Pierce, who — like Chiklis — is especially prolific when it comes to acclaimed TV crime thrillers, with his starring roles in HBO’s The Wire cast and Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan series, to name just a small few. Yet, he also has plenty of comedies under his belt, including CBS' The Odd Couple reboot and Warren Beatty’s political satire, Bulworth. A lot of Pierce’s other most famous movies are biopics, such as Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, 2004’s Ray with Jamie Foxx, and Ava DuVernay’s Selma.

Rachel Bilson

Giving a starring role on a crime series a second try after 2018’s short-lived Take Two is Rachel Bilson, who skyrocketed to fame by starring in Fox’s The O.C. cast as Summer Roberts before landing a memorable recurring role on How I Met Your Mother, leading her own series with The CW’s Hart of Dixie, and landing another notable recurring role on Nashville. Bilson made her feature film debut in Zach Braff’s The Last Kiss, shared the screen with her former partner, Hayden Christensen, in 2008’s Jumper, and, that same year, appeared in the American counterpart to Paris, je t’aime, New York, I Love You.

Jack Davenport

Yet another sitcom star in the Accused cast (the hilarious British comedy, Coupling, in particular) is Jack Davenport, who is really a jack of all trades with a versatile resume that includes the likes of 1999’s Oscar-nominated drama, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and the first three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as Norrington, for instance. He also starred opposite Johnny Depp in 2004’s The Libertine, starred opposite Davy Jones actor Bill Nighy in The Boat That Rocked, and was Eggsy’s father, Lancelot, in Kingsman: The Secret Service.

Molly Parker

Canadian actor Molly Parker is best known for her starring role in HBO’s Deadwood cast as Alma Garret (as well as in the feature-length follow-up), having previously starred in the cable network’s original movie about women’s suffrage, Iron Jawed Angels. She would go on to receive an Emmy nomination for playing Jackie Sharp in Netflix’s House of Cards cast and later starred on the platform’s reboot of Lost in Space, as well as its acclaimed 2020 drama, Pieces of a Woman.

Rhea Perlman

The last time Rhea Perlman appeared on an anthology series was on the original Amazing Stories in 1986, at which point she had already won three out of her four Emmy Awards for playing Carla Tortelli in the Cheers cast for 11 seasons. You may also recognize her from 1995’s Matilda, her recurring role on The Mindy Project, and her voice acting work, such as on the animated new Star Wars TV show, The Bad Batch.

Betsy Brandt

Viewers of Accused will likely recognize Betsy Brandt best from the Breaking Bad cast as Marie Schrader, but should also take into account her work in movies like Magic Mike or the 2022 Hulu original comedy, The Valet. She also played Michael J. Fox’s wife on his self-titled, short-lived sitcom, had recurring roles on hits like Masters of Sex and Parenthood, and previously starred alongside Michael Chiklis on No Ordinary Family.

Keith Carradine

The last time that Molly Parker’s Deadwood co-star, Keith Carradine, starred on an anthology series was during the first season of FX’s Fargo and one of his most memorable roles on a crime thriller was his recurring stint in the Dexter cast as Special Agent Frank Lundy. The brother of John and Robert Carradine won an Academy Award in 1976 for performing the song “I’m Easy” in Robert Altman’s Nashville, and would later appear in more Oscar darlings like Netflix’s The Power of the Dog, most recently. 

Aisha Dee

Aisha Dee's previous starring role on an anthology series was in Season 2 of one of the scariest shows on Shudder, Channel Zero, years before leading the Shudder original movie, Sissy, in 2022 — the same year she appeared in Netflix’s Look Both Ways. The Australian actor debuted on the family show The Saddle Club before going on to other shows like I Hate My Teenage Daughter and Freeform’s The Bold Type.

Jason Ritter

Like most of the Accused cast, Jason Ritter has explored just about every genre under the sun — including horror movies (such as Freddy vs. Jason), political biopics (he played Jeb Bush in Oliver Stone’s W.), and animated fantasy (he was in the Frozen II voice cast as Ryder). Like his late father, John Ritter, the actor is even better known from TV shows like Joan of Arcadia, Gravity Falls — one of the best animated shows on Disney+ — as the voice of Dipper Pines, and Parenthood, to name just a few.

The Accused cast stands accused as one of the most exciting and talented ensembles for an anthology series in years. You can be the judge of how well they each handle their case by catching the on Sunday, January 22 after NFL coverage ends.

Every once in a while, celebrity siblings - such as Ben and Casey Affleck or Dakota and Elle Fanning - end up sharing the screen together. Well, apparently it happens a little more often than just every once in a while, given the amount of examples we compiled below.

Jake And Maggie Gyllenhaal (A Dangerous Woman, Homegrown, Donnie Darko)

Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and his twice-nominated older sister, Maggie, are in three movies together: 1993’s A Dangerous Woman, 1998’s Homegrown (both were directed by their father, Stephen), and the eventual sci-fi cult classic, Donnie Darko, in 2001.

Jeff And Beau Bridges (The Fabulous Baker Boys)

Oscar winner Jeff Bridges and his older brother, Beau, also played siblings in The Fabulous Baker Boys - a 1989 comedy in which the titular musicians become rivals after teaming up with a beautiful aspiring singer (Michelle Pfieffer).

Kate And Rooney Mara (Urban Legends: Bloody Mary)

Kate Mara of the House of Cards cast led the 2005 straight-to-video slasher, Urban Legends: Bloody Mary, in which her younger sister, Nightmare Alley’s Rooney Mara, made her acting debut.

Sean And Chris Penn (At Close Range)

Future two-time Oscar-winner Sean Penn and his late younger brother, Chris (best known from the Reservoir Dogs cast) played siblings in the 1986 crime thriller, At Close Range, starring Christopher Walken as their criminal father.

Andrew, Owen, And Luke Wilson (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums) 

Owen Wilson and his younger sibling, Luke have also acted alongside their eldest brother, Andrew, in 1996’s Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums from 2001 - both of which Owen also co-wrote with director Wes Anderson.

Chris And Luke Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok)

Chris Hemsworth has yet to star in anything with his little bro, Liam, but the Australian Marvel movie star’s older bother, Westworld star Luke, did show up in Thor: Ragnarok as a dramatized version of the God of Thunder, whom he is set to reprise (along with Matt Damon as “Actor Loki”) in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Dylan And Cole Sprouse (Various)

Twin brothers Dylan and Cole Sprouse (the latter of which went on to join the Riverdale cast) have shared the same role in several TV shows (most notably Grace Under Fire) and movies (such as Big Daddy with Adam Sandler) and have played siblings just as often, most famously as the title characters of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, its spin-off The Suite Life on Deck, and 2011’s The Suite Life Movie.

Tia, Tamera, And Tahj Mowry  (Sister, Sister, Smart Guy, Seventeen Again)

Twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry have shared the screen with their little brother, Tahj, several times - most notably as guest stars on each other’s respective sitcoms, Sister, Sister and Smart Guy, and in the 2000 Showtime original movie, Seventeen Again.

James And Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist)

After years finding success in the business in separate projects, James Franco and his younger brother, Dave, played Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero of the infamous cult favorite, The Room, in the 2017 biopic, The Disaster Artist.

Hilary And Haylie Duff (Various)

Haylie Duff would appear on three episodes of her younger sister, Hilary’s, Disney Channel show, Lizzie McGuire, and provided the singing voice of Isabella Parigi in the theatrical spin-off before they both played a singing group on an episode of American Dreams, sisters in the 2006 rags-to-riches story Material Girls, and both leant their voices to the infamous animated movie Foodfight!, which was released in 2012.

Aly And AJ Michalka (Various)

Singer-songwriter duo Aly and AJ Michalka first shared the screen in the 2006 Disney Channel original movie Cow Belles as sisters, again in the MTV original Super Sweet 16: The Movie the next year as rivals, followed by three episodes of Aly’s CW series Hellcats in 2011 as half-sisters. Most recently, they appeared in the 2015 drama, Weepah Way For Now, as what appear to be fictionalized versions of themselves.

Dakota And Elle Fanning (I Am Sam, Taken)

Elle Fanning has portrayed a younger version of her older sister, Dakota, on two separate occasions: first in the 2001 drama I Am Sam and secondly in the Steven Spielberg-produced, Syfy original miniseries, Taken, in 2002.

Spencer And Abigail Breslin (Various)

Academy Award nominee Abigail and her older brother, Spencer, played siblings in both Raising Helen and The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement in 2004, played elves in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause in 2006, and later played cousins in the 2014 crime drama, Perfect Sisters.

Jason And Justine Bateman (Arrested Development)

Justine Bateman played her real-life brother, Jason's, sibling in the 1986 TV movie Can You Feel Me Dancing? and a sex worker whom Jason’s Michael Bluth mistakes for his long-lost sibling on Arrested Development.

John, Joan, Ann, And Bill Cusack (Grosse Pointe Blank)

While beloved star John Cusack and his Academy-nominated sister, Joan, have appeared in more films together than most celebrity siblings can claim (including Say Anything… and High Fidelity), the only screen credit that they also share with both their sister, Ann, and brother, Bill, is 1997’s Grosse Pointe Blank, which John also co-wrote and produced.

Bill And Brian Doyle Murray (Various) 

Bill Murray and his older brother, Brian, are both Saturday Night Live veterans (although at different times) and have several classic movies in common - including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, Groundhog Day, and The Razor's Edge.

Ben And Casey Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy)

Years before casting him in his amazing directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck shared the screen with his younger brother and fellow Oscar winner, Casey, in Good Will Hunting (which Ben co-wrote with Matt Damon) and Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy in 1997.

Macaulay And Kieran Culkin (Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York)

Kieran Culkin (now more famous than ever since starring on HBO’s Succession) made his acting debut alongside his older brother (child megastar Macaulay Culkin) in 1990’s Home Alone cast as his cousin, Fuller - a role he would also reprise in the 1992 sequel.

Rory And Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down)

In addition to playing Macaulay’s younger self in Richie Rich, the youngest Culkin brother, Rory, also played a younger version of Kieran as the title role in 2002's Igby Goes Down.

The Wayans Siblings (Various) 

Where do we start with the Wayans Siblings? Well, for instance, several of them (such as Damon and Kim Wayans) were a part of the In Living Color cast with star and creator Keenen Ivory Wayans, who later directed his younger brothers, Marlon and Shawn, in movies like White Chicks, the first two Scary Movie installments, and Little Man.

Zooey And Emily Deschanel (Bones)

In Season 5 of Bones, star Emily Deschanel’s sister (Zooey of the Elf cast fame and later the lead of the New Girl cast) guest starred as Temperance Brennan’s second cousin, Margaret Whitesell.

Fred And Ben Savage (Little Monsters, The Wonder Years, Boy Meets World)

After playing siblings in the family-friendly horror film, Little Monsters, in 1989, Ben Savage made a guest appearance on his older brother, Fred’s, hit dramedy, The Wonder Years, in 1990 and later returned the favor by inviting him to the Boy Meets World cast for an episode in 1998.

Charlie Sheen And Emilio Estevez (Various)

After making several movies together - including Young Guns, Men At Work, and Rated X (the latter two of which Emilio Estevez directed), Charlie Sheen (née Carlos Estevez) reunited with his brother on an episode of his hit sitcom, Two and a Half Men, in 2008.

Vanessa and Laura Marano (Saving Zoë)

Both of these talented ladies had guest appearances on Dexter at different times in the series’ run, but Vanessa Marano and her younger sister, Laura, did appear together in the 2019 mystery, Saving Zoë, as siblings torn apart by one’s unsolved murder.

Nat And Alex Wolff (The Naked Brothers Band, Mr. Troop Mom, Stella’s Last Weekend)

Hereditary’s Alex Wolff and his older brother, Peacock’s Joe vs. Carole cast member Nat Wolff, both debuted as fictionalized versions of themselves in Nickelodeon’s faux rockumentary, The Naked Brothers Band, its series continuation, and the 2009 TV movie Mr. Troop Mom before reuniting in 2018’s Stella’s Last Weekend, which was written and directed by their mother, Polly Draper.

Vera And Taissa Farmiga (Higher Ground, At Middleton, The Nun)

Scream Queens Vera and Taissa Farmiga, who are often mistaken for mother and daughter, played mother and daughter in 2013’s At Middleton after Taissa previously played her older sister’s younger self in Vera’s 2011 directorial debut, Higher Ground. However, interestingly, their characters in the 2018 Conjuring spin-off, The Nun, have no apparent familial ties.

Maude And Iris Apatow (Knocked Up, This Is 40, Funny People)

Euphoria’s Maude Apatow and her younger sister, Iris, have played siblings in 2007’s Knocked Up, its “sort-of sequel” This is 40 from 2012, and 2009’s Funny People - all three of which also starred their real mother, Leslie Mann, as their mother, and were written and directed by their father, Judd Apatow.

Dan And Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek)

While Annie Murphy plays co-creator Dan Levy’s on-screen sister in the Schitt’s Creek cast, Café Tropical owner, Twyla Sands, is played by his real-life sister, Sarah.

Mary-Kate, Ashley, And Elizabeth Olsen (How The West Was Fun)

After Full House made the Olsen Twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, household names and  before the Marvel movies made their younger sister, Elizabeth, an A-lister, all three of them appeared together in the ABC original TV movie How the West Was Fun in 1994.

Bill And Alexander Skarsgård (White Water Fury)

Years before his terrifying performance as Pennywise in It, Bill Skarsgård made his acting debut alongside his older brother, True Blood cast member Alexander, in the 2000 Swedish thriller, White Water Fury.

Blake And Robyn Lively (Simon Says)

Robyn Lively, star of 1989’s Teen Witch, shared the screen with her then up-and-coming half-sister, former Gossip Girl cast member Blake Lively, in a 2006 slasher flick called Simon Says, which also stars fellow ‘80s icon Crispin Glover.

Brian And Domhnall Gleeson (Mother!, Frank Of Ireland)

Despite plenty of years of experience between the them, it was not until 2017 when Star Wars star Domnhall Gleeson and his younger brother, Brian, shared the screen in Mother! before reuniting as co-creators and co-stars of the Amazon Prime original comedy Frank of Ireland - also starring their father, Brendan Gleeson.

Eddie And Charlie Murphy (Harlem Nights, Norbit)

Comedy icon Eddie Murphy worked behind the scenes a lot with his older brother, Charlie, who passed away in 2017, but the two would also share a few acting credits, - namely Eddie’s 1989 directorial debut Harlem Nights (also Charlie’s first movie), and in 2006’s Norbit, in which Charlie voiced a dog named Floyd.

Phylicia Rashad And Debbie Allen (The Cosby Show, Grey’s Anatomy, The Old Settler)

Phylicia Rashad and her younger sister, Emmy-winning dance legend Debbie Allen, have made guest appearances on each other’s shows - The Cosby Show, on which Rashad played Claire Huxtable, and Grey’s Anatomy, on which Allen plays Dr. Catherine Fox (née Avery) - and both starred in a 2001 TV movie called The Old Settler, which Allen also directed.

Ron And Clint Howard (Various) 

You can find Clint Howard in just about every movie directed by his brother, Ron Howard - including his feature-length directorial debut from 1977, Grand Theft Auto, which was also the brothers’ third time acting alongside each other after the 1963 film The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and a handful of episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.

Angelina Jolie And James Haven (Gia, Hell’s Kitchen, Original Sin)

Audiences probably remember Angelina Jolie’s brother, James Haven, better for other reasons than all the times he shared the screen with his younger sister - namely Gia and Hell’s Kitchen from 1998, and 2001’s Original Sin.

Jared And Shannon Leto (Various)

In addition to being bandmates with his young brother, Oscar winner Jared Leto, in 30 Seconds to Mars, Shannon Leto also shared the screen with him on a couple of episodes of My So-Called Life (on which Jared played the iconic Jordan Catalano) and through brief appearances in the movies Prefontaine from 1997, 1998’s Highway, and Sol Goode in 2003.

Chris And Scott Evans (Before We Go, Playing It Cool)

Former Captain America actor Chris Evans has a brother named Scott who has also appeared in two romantic-comedies from 2014 with his older sibling, called Before We Go (which Chris also directed) and Playing It Cool.

Sarah And Laura Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program, Bob’s Burgers, Masters Of Sex)

Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman and her sister, Laura, played heavily fictionalized versions of themselves as series regulars on The Sarah Silverman Program, made guest appearances on Showtime’s Masters of Sex together, and have recurred on Bob’s Burgers as Jimmy Pesto’s twin sons, Andy and Ollie.

Kevin, Nick, And Joe Jonas (Camp Rock Movies, Jonas)

Back when they were the biggest thing to come out of Disney Channel, Kevin, Nick, and Joe Jonas played three brothers in a band not named the Jonas Brothers in the Camp Rock movies, and later played themselves to more comedic effect in their own sitcom, aptly titled Jonas.

Looks like talent really does run in the family.

If you’re anything like me, Abigail Breslin is cemented in your mind as the little girl from Signs always who thought her glasses of water were “contaminated” after a few sips. The reality, though, is that she’s all grown up and at the next milestone of her life. After long time boyfriend Ira Kunyansky proposed, the Little Miss Sunshine star is sharing a peek at her new engagement ring as she joins a number of other former child stars getting ready to tie the knot. 

Ira Kunyansky took to his Instagram recently to show off the newly engaged couple. It looks like he and now-fiancée Abigail Breslin had a romantic lobster dinner before heading to the beach, where Kunyansky proposed to Breslin under the blanket of night. The couple looks overjoyed about the engagement, and you can check out the post containing the pictures below:

Abigail Breslin has been with Ira Kunyansky for about five years, and the two have posted about each other on their respective social media accounts frequently since becoming a couple. As such, fans are well aware of the couple’s lengthy relationship and have come out with tons of congratulations on Kunyansku’s announcement post.

Ira Kunyansky isn’t the only one who wanted to share their love on social media, as Abigail Breslin, who had previously announced a break from social media after the devastating passing of her father, also posted about their engagement. She posted a close-up picture of her new engagement ring, with a caption that makes it pretty clear there was no question about what her answer to Kunyansky’s proposal would be. You can check both her beautiful ring and her caption in the post below:

While her new betrothed Ira Kunyansky is not an actor himself, Abigail Breslin is still pretty active in Hollywood, even though she’s no longer playing the little girl we all know and love from movies like Signs and Little Miss Sunshine. These days she may be more recognizable from her roles in the comedic zombie franchise Zombieland (you can check out both films with an HBO Max subscription) or the slasher satire series Scream Queens, which can be binged with a Hulu subscription. 

It looks like she’s continuing to explore the horror and comedy horror genres further in the future of her career as well, because she has a number of roles coming up. Her upcoming Slayers has her hunting vampires and she is in another dark role in The Cannibals’, which is just getting started with production.

Although it does not yet have a concrete release date, her upcoming film Slayers should be among the many new release films coming out this year. It looks as though we can expect some cool projects from her in the future, though it’s unclear how her new engagement and future wedding will influence how often we see her take up new projects after what she currently has in the works. 

Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen actors who are part of huge franchises backing out of online platforms, as a result of some less than optimal interactions. Stillwater and Zombieland actor Abigail Breslin is the latest Hollywood actress to step away from social media, after dealing with trolling. While she’s not totally quitting the scene, Ms. Breslin is indeed giving herself time to decompress and be free of her critics. 

This latest round of comments stemmed from an earlier post that the actor had made, showing her and a group of friends posing in a photo without masks. Highlighting a comment made about said post, Abigail Breslin explained her temporary departure on Instagram. Here’s that post’s contents, in its entirety: 

The social media hiatus is, sadly, also spurred by continued comments that bring up the memory of her late father, Michael, who passed away after a battle with COVID. Michael Breslin’s untimely death last February has been a sticking point for some of the harshest comments that the actress has received online. It’s because of everything mentioned above, as well as another round of discourse that actually criticized Ms. Breslin for wearing a mask on a theme park ride, that have resulted in this story’s outcome.

As alluded to, Abigail Breslin is the latest, and possibly most serious, social media hiatus/departure we’ve seen in recent years. This is after the heated reaction to the Star Wars sequel trilogy saw two of its own cast members leaving those platforms entirely. Both Kelly Marie Tran, as well as Daisy Ridley, ditched the scene to better themselves, with Ridley in particular stating that social media was, “just not for [her.]”  Though Breslin is only taking a short leave of absence from the web, she'll have plenty of other things to keep her occupied.

Promising updates on her new EP Witchcraft in the near future, she has every intention of returning to her fans “in a few days.” Circumstances may not be ideal surrounding this recent development, but at least this break seems to be happening at the right time. For now, her short breakup with Instagram is just the latest story of handling the pitfalls that naturally accompany such a platform, open to both fans and detractors alike.

Fans of Abigail Breslin's work are in luck, as they can currently rent or buy her latest film, Stillwater. The movie, co-starring Matt Damon, is now available in both physical and digital formats, for those ready to enjoy in the comfort of their own home. Meanwhile Ms. Breslin’s next project, the horror-comedy Slayers, is still awaiting a set release date; so you’ll have to sit tight on that front for now. However, you can take a look at the movies that are currently on this year’s slate, thanks to the 2022 release schedule.

When it comes to zombie films, there are few that often stray from the simple course of survivors just needing to survive, shooting zombies and somehow staying alive. While there have been a couple that have sort of reinvented the zombie franchise in the last couple of years, such as Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, only one film series stands out to me among the rest, and that’s Zombieland, and its successor, Zombieland: Double Tap.

The wonderful combination of gore and hilarious jokes, plus the superb acting from the Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap cast made these films so much fun to watch, and became a wonderful addition to the world of zombie-comedy films, like Shaun of the Dead. But with casts as star-studded as some of these, where have they been seen before and what have they done, like Emma Stone? Are any of them going to be in the upcoming 2021 movies or 2022 movies? Luckily, we have that covered for you if you were a fan of these two great zombie films.

Woody Harrelson (Tallahassee)

Tallahassee is the kind of survivor we would all want as our partner in a zombie apocalypse, and was a great partner to Columbus in Zombieland and Zombieland: Double-Tap. Woody Harrelson portrayed the wise-cracking zombie killer and has been plenty busy since his zombie killing days.

From 2012 until 2016, Woody Harrelson portrayed Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games movies. Afterwards, he would go on to have starring roles in hit films such as the coming-of-age film, The Edge of Seventeen, the action film, War for the Planet of the Apes, the space-western, Solo: A Star Wars Story, the anti-hero film, Venom, the war film, Midway, and several others. He also starred in True Detective for its first season in 2014.

In the next couple of years, Harrelson will be appearing in several films, like Venom: Let There Be Carnage, where he will reprise his role. He will also be appearing in films currently in production, called Triangle of Sadness and The Man from Toronto.

Harrelson will also be in two upcoming TV series, one called The White House Plumbers and the other called The Most Dangerous Man in America. There’s truly no stopping this awesome actor.

Jesse Eisenberg (Columbus)

Columbus is a nerd - but he’s a surviving nerd and that’s all that matters in the rules of Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap. Jesse Eisenberg played Columbus in both films, and has been on a roll since his time in the zombie world.

Jesse Eisenberg went on to play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Blu in the Rio animated film series, and have a starring role in the heist series, Now You See Me, with a third film on the way. Eisenberg also portrayed the iconic DC villain, Lex Luthor, in both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and in the two Justice Leagues that released afterwards. In 2021, Eisenberg also had a role in the thriller film, Wild Indian.

In the upcoming years, he will have a role in several films, one titled The Medusa, and another titled Manodrome, so keep an eye out for this talented star.

Emma Stone (Wichita)

Wichita in both Zombieland and Zombieland: Double Tap is the epitome of what a badass girl should look like and be in the zombie world, and is a character I will always love to root for. Emma Stone, in one of her earlier roles, portrayed Wichita perfectly, and since then, she’s gone on to have quite the career.

Stone won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the musical La La Land in 2016, certifying her amazing acting skills. Besides that, Stone has been in plenty of critically acclaimed and well-received films, such as the comedy film, Easy A, the historical film, The Help, playing Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man films, starring in the Academy-Award-nominated Birdman and The Favourite, played the titular character in the Disney live-action film Cruella, and so many more. She was also a star in the Netflix miniseries, Maniac, alongside Jonah Hill.

Coming up, she will be appearing in a new film titled Poor Things, and a TV series called The Curse. With how much she’s done in the last decade, I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Abigail Breslin (Little Rock)

As the last of the original cast to appear in both films, Little Rock was adorably badass in Zombieland, and managed to keep some of her original character in Zombieland: Double Tap. Abigail Breslin portrayed the younger sister to Wichita both times.

Breslin has been in many different genres of film since her time in the zombie world. She was in the animated film, Rango, the sci-fi movie, Ender’s Game, starred alongside Matt Damon in 2021’s Stillwater, and several others. One of her biggest roles thus far was playing Libby Putney in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens for two seasons.

Coming up, Abigail Breslin will be in a couple of films, Slayers and Saturday at the Starlight, so she’s sure to pop up in movies theaters soon.

Bill Murray (Himself)

While Bill Murray didn’t play an original character in Zombieland, his fictionalized version of himself will always make me hold my sides in laughter every time I watch. Bill Murray has been active in Hollywood for decades now, and that hasn't changed ay all, because he's filmed plenty of movies since Zombieland's release.

Since his appearance in Zombieland, Murray has been in several big films, such as Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dumb and Dumber To, the Wes Anderson film, Isle of Dogs, the zombie film, The Dead Don’t Die, and many others. Coming up this year, he will be appearing in both the new Ghostbusters: Afterlife film, and have a role in the anticipated The French Dispatch, so it seems that 2021 is going to be Bill Murray’s year.

Rosario Dawson (Nevada)

As the first character who only appeared in Zombieland: Double Tap, Nevada was a great character to introduce to the sequel, and her Elvis-themed hotel was to die for. Rosario Dawson, who played Nevada in the film, has been acting in Hollywood for some time, and only continues to do so.

You might have seen her hits like the comedy, Zookeeper, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Water Man and more. She’s also continuously voiced Diana Prince, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, in several DC animated films and TV shows - including 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Dawson also had a major role in Netflix’s Defender’s universe, where she played Claire Temple in Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and The Defenders series. She also had a recurring role in the cast of Jane the Virgin.

Recently, she took the playing the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano in Disney+’s The Mandalorian, and will continue to play the character in the upcoming spinoff, titled Ahsoka. She will also be in a couple new films, titled Clerks III and Speed of Light, as well as another new miniseries called DMZ.

Zoey Deutch (Madison)

I mean, I think all of us loved and hated Madison in Zombieland: Double Tap, but that doesn’t mean that Zoey Deutch wasn’t a great actress to pick for the role.

Deutch has appeared in several different movies, namely the fantasy film, Beautiful Creatures, the teen fantasy movie, Vampire Academy, the teen drama film, Before I Fall, the biographical film, The Disaster Artist, and more. Zoey Deutch also had a main role on the Netflix series, The Politician.

In the next couple of years, Deutch will be in a few new films, titled The Outfit, Not Okay, and Hound, so hopefully we will get to see more of this talented actress.

Luke Wilson (Albuquerque)

Albuquerque is basically Tallahassee except a bit younger and I am all here for it, because he brought some great comedy to Zombieland: Double Tap. Only a star like Luke Wilson could play someone like him perfectly, and it’s no surprise that he’s been busy in Hollywood just like the rest of his co-stars.

Wilson has appeared in plenty of hits during his time as an actor, including The Legally Blonde movies, the Netflix original film, The Ridiculous 6, The Goldfinch, another Netflix original film, All the Bright Places, 12 Mighty Orphans and more. Recently, Wilson has taken on a role in the Disney+ original series, Stargirl, and will continue that into its next season.

Wilson will also be in several new films, including Gasoline Alley alongside Bruce Willis, The Cleaner, and Plus/Minus. He will also be in an upcoming TV series titled New-Gen.

Avan Jogia (Berkeley)

Oh, Berkeley. You gotta love him and hate him at the same time. I mean, who has ever heard of a pacifist in a zombie apocalypse? But that’s who he was in Zombieland: Double Tap, played by the wonderful Avan Jogia, who has been around for some time.

Jogia has mainly kept his career towards TV during his time in Hollywood. He grew in fame when he had a main role on the Nickelodeon show, Victorious, as Beck, and continued to star in several other shows after it ended. Avan Jogia had the lead role in the teen drama mystery series, Twisted, the lead role in the miniseries, Tut, the lead role in the SyFy series, Ghost Wars, the lead role in comedy TV series, Now Apocalypse, and part of the main cast in The Stranger on Quibi.

In 2021, he is going to be playing legendary video game character Leon S. Kennedy in the upcoming adaptation, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, and have a role in a film titled Door Mouse. With a resume that packed with TV work, I hope that he takes that talent to film more and we get to see him on the big screen soon.

Thomas Middleditch (Flagstaff)

Flagstaff is a mirror of Columbus in Zombieland: Double Tap, and has plenty of commandments for survival just as Columbus does. Thomas Middleditch, who played Flagstaff, did a great job of mirroring those same traits of Columbus and creating some funny moments.

Middleditch has appeared in several films, such as the sports comedy, The Bronze, the comedy film, Tag, the monster film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and had voice role in Disney+’s original film, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe.

However, Middleditch has been also super active in TV as well. He had one of the main roles in popular comedy series, Silicon Valley, and went on to voice and write for Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero. Currently, he is voicing a main role in Solar Opposites, an adult animated sitcom made by the Rick and Morty creators, and has a role in the sitcom, B Positive on CBS.

These two roles will likely continue into the next couple of years, so if you’re a fan of this talented and funny actor, be sure to check out his latest TV series.

With how much these big stars have done, there’s no surprise that you’ve most likely seen them in some way or another throughout their years in the industry. Maybe if there’s a possible Zombieland 3 we might get to see them all together again, but if not, I’ll have to tune in to whey they’re all doing next.

Warning: light spoilers for Stillwater are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, feel free to check out some of the other news on the film that CinemaBlend has to offer.

For all of the emotional turmoil that Abigail Breslin had to navigate in co-writer/director Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater, there was one scene in particular that felt “intimidating” and “scary.” Surprisingly, it wasn’t any of the prison heart-to-hearts with co-star/on screen father Matt Damon, though those were still pretty intense. Instead, Ms. Breslin’s big moment comes from a conversation with co-star Camille Cottin, which takes place entirely in French.

As I spoke with her during the Stillwater press day, promoting the film’s opening that took place last weekend, I asked whether or not she had experience with the French language before making the film. The reason behind that questioning was a scene where Abigail Breslin gets to speak to French actor Camille Cottin, with their dialogue exclusively being spoken in that dialect. Surprisingly, Abigail didn’t have any previous studies in French, but prepared hard for this crucial scene:

In a rare Stillwater moment where the incarcerated Allison Baker (Abigail Breslin) is allowed out of prison on a day pass, she gets to reunite with her father Bill (Matt Damon). As Bill has developed a relationship with Virginie (Camille Cottin) and become a father figure to her daughter Maya (Lilou Siauvaud), Allison sees the second chance her father has carved out for himself, and finds herself happy for him. But in the conversation she has with Virginie, Allison can’t help but feel her family is cursed in some small way.

Studying the French language wasn’t the only intense Stillwater prep that Abigail Breslin did. For background on the character of Allison, who maintains her innocence and believes herself falsely imprisoned, Breslin researched real life cases of that same sort. The big takeaway that she gained from that portion of her preparation was that in those particular cases, the prisoner tends to give up more easily and accept their fate.

Even through some of the moments where father and daughter meet in a visitation cell in prison, Stillwater sees further moments of Abigail Breslin’s mastery of the French language. One special visit leads to a moment where Breslin’s Allison is outraged by her father, which leads her to cut their conversation short. Demanding a guard escort her back to her cell, she speaks in a language that Bill has only started to grasp. It’s a moment of disconnection that shocks, as up until that point, the wounds between the Baker family seemed to be mending.

Stillwater is a family drama filled with suspense, as the ups and downs of each moment could undo the efforts to reconcile with the past and build a better future. While more of the focus is centered on Matt Damon’s absentee father trying to make things right, the trajectory of Abigail Breslin’s Allison parallels those efforts with a sense of making peace with the way things are. The contrast between the two can be currently seen in Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater, which is currently showing in theaters.

Every once in a while, an indie darling with a small budget, two first-time movie directors, and a talented cast comes along and catches everyone by surprise. This happens to be the case for the 2006 family road trip comedy Little Miss Sunshine, that went on to bring in more than $100 million at the box office worldwide and earned a spot on numerous best-of lists.

At the time of the film's release, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, and Alan Arkin were already well-known actors, having appeared in countless critically acclaimed comedies and dramas over the years, but for other members of the Little Miss Sunshine cast, specifically Abigail Breslin and Paul Dano, this was their introduction to larger audiences. In the 15 years since the movie took home two Oscars and dozens of other accolades, the cast has only become more popular. Here’s everything they’ve been up to since the release of Little Miss Sunshine.

Steve Carell (Frank Ginsburg)

Steve Carell’s heartbreaking and tormented, yet hilarious, portrayal of Frank Ginsburg came at a time when the actor’s career was on the rise thanks to star-making performances in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman, and a little show by the name of The Office, which debuted just a few months before Little Miss Sunshine premiered at Sundance in January 2006.

Since playing the suicidal and unemployed Proust scholar, Steve Carell has gone on to give multiple outstanding performances in animated comedies like the Despicable Me franchise (with Minions: The Rise of Gru on the way), and outstanding dramas like Foxcatcher, The Big Short, and Vice. Over on the TV side of the spectrum, Carell has followed up his success on the The Office with leading roles on Space Force and The Morning Show.

Greg Kinnear (Richard Hoover)

By the time he took on the role of family patriarch and struggling self-help writer Richard Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine, Greg Kinnear was already an established star, having appeared in everything from Sydney Pollack’s Sabrina remake to As Good as it Gets and even Mystery Men.

In the years following his outstanding performance, Kinnear has gone on to portray John F. Kennedy on the controversial limited series The Kennedys, as well as other notable television programs like House of Cards and The Stand. Not bad for the guy who helped make Talk Soup must-watch television upon its 1991 debut on E!. Kinnear was also slated to take over the role of Atticus Finch in Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird before New York’s theater district was shutdown due to COVID-19 in March 2020.

Toni Collette (Sheryl Hoover)

Toni Collettte’s career in show business got started long before she took on the role of Sheryl Hoover, the overworked mother that keeps the family together, in Little Miss Sunshine. Whether it be in romantic comedies like 1995’s Emma or About a Boy or horror films like The Sixth Sense, Collette had built up a nice track record for herself by the time 2006 came around. But, that was really just the beginning.

In the years following the Academy Award-winning comedy, Toni Collette has gone on to appear in everything from modern horror classics like Hereditary and Krampus, to big-budget action flicks like xXx: Return of Xander Cage. More recently, Collette has stolen scenes in films like Knives Out and I’m Thinking of Ending Things as well as the truly inspirational Dream Horse.

Paul Dano (Dwayne Hoover)

Paul Dano had a few roles — most notably The Emperor’s Club and The Girl Next Door — by the time he was cast as Dwayne Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine, but his portrayal of a tormented youth on a speaking strike helped introduce the talented actor to a much larger audience. In the years following, Dano gave out-of-this-world performances on in movies like Being Flynn, 12 Years A Slave, Prisoners, and There Will Be Blood.

In 2022, Paul Dano plays the Riddler in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, giving fans of the DC Comics character a less cartoonish version of one of the Dark Knight’s most notorious enemies. Dano will also appear in the Adam Sandler-led sci-fi drama Spaceman at some point in the near future.

Abigail Breslin (Olive Hooper)

Abigail Breslin’s career was just getting started when she joined the Little Miss Sunshine cast as Oliver Hooper, the young girl whose dream of being in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant led her family to make the unforgettable journey to California. Following her breakout role, Breslin went on to play supporting roles in No Reservations and Definitely, Maybe before landing one of the lead roles in the 2009 zombie comedy Zombieland, which was then followed by two more undead movies: Maggie and Zombieland: Double Tap.

The horror genre has become one Abigail Breslin has returned to time and time again throughout her career, with movies like Final Girl and Freak Show, as well as the horror-comedy series Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016.

Alan Arkin (Edwin Hoover)

While other members of the Little Miss Sunshine cast were relatively unknown or not known by mainstream audiences upon its release, that is far from the case for Alan Arkin. In a movie that won Arkin an Oscar, the Hollywood legend took on the role of Edwin Hoover, Olive’s grandfather and coach whose death by heroin overdose led to some of the movie’s most shocking yet hilarious moments.

In the years following the release of Little Miss Sunshine, Alan Arkin has gone on to give great performances in movies like Argo, Going in Style, and the Netflix original series The Kominsky Method, though he departed prior to the show’s third and final season. Arkin will next voice a character in 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Bryan Cranston (Stan Grossman)

Looking back on Little Miss Sunshine, some might find it strange that Bryan Cranston, one of the biggest actors of the modern era, would have such a small role in the 2006 comedy, but you have to remember that this is before Breaking Bad took the world by storm. Cranston appears as Stan Grossman, Richard Hoover’s prospective business partner who finally tells the struggling life coach he is a failure and should pursue something else.

Prior to landing the small yet pivotal role, Bryan Cranston was mostly known from his time on Seinfeld and Malcolm in the Middle or small roles in the Saving Private Ryan cast. In two years, however, Cranston would be on his way to becoming a three-time Emmy winner, a Golden Globe recipient, and one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood.

Beth Grant (Pageant Official Jenkins)

Standing between Olive Hoover and her dreams of competing in the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine is an official played by Beth Grant. The character actress, who had appeared in everything from Rain Man to Donnie Darko before appearing in the 2006 comedy, has gone on to show up in dozens upon dozens of movies and TV shows over the years including King of the Hill, The X-Files, The Office, and Grey’s Anatomy. She most recently appeared in the b-movie heaven that was Willy’s Wonderland.

Wallace Langham (Kirby)

Kirby, the sympathetic hired hand who makes sure Olive makes it into the pageant in Little Miss Sunshine was played by Wallace Langham, whose career includes everything from small roles in Weird Science to the controversial Netflix documentary Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. Langham also played David Hodges on the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a role he will reprise on CSI: Vegas in fall 2021.

Matt Winston (Pageant MC)

Matt Winson, who briefly appears as the MC at the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine, has quite the history in show business. Not only has he appeared in movies like A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Zodiac, as well as shows like Scrubs, Six Feet Under, and Friends, but he is also the son of the late special effects icon Stan Winston, and even worked with his dad as a puppeteer during the production of Jurassic Park.

Dean Norris (State Trooper McCleary)

Dean Norris has made a career out of playing members of various law enforcement agencies over the years, with his most recognizable being that of DEA Agent and Walter White’s brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, on Breaking Bad. But, just before that, Norris played State Trooper McCleary, the offical who’s more preoccupied by porn magazines than Edwin Hoover’s dead body in the back of the family van, in Little Miss Sunshine.

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Pageant Assistant Pam)

Mary Lynn Rajskub portrays Pam, the pageant assistant who can’t get enough of Olive’s routine, in Little Miss Sunshine. Over the years, Rajskub has appeared in comedies like Sweet Home Alabama and Julie & Julia as well as numerous TV shows like Mr. Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and, most notably, 24. Rajskub most recently appeared in the Amazon sci-fi action thriller The Tomorrow War.

As you can see, the Little Miss Sunshine cast (from the leads down to the smallest of roles) are a busy bunch and it looks like it will be that way for quite some time. To find out when you will see them next, check out CinemaBlend’s list of all the 2021 movie premiere dates.

It’s honestly hard to believe we’ve been living in the age of COVID-19 for nearly a year now. To say the pandemic has vastly changed our lives would be a massive understatement and, for many people, those changes have unfortunately not been for the better. A few weeks ago Zombieland star Abigail Breslin revealed her father had been hospitalized with COVID, and she’s now sadly confirmed that he has died. With this, the actress penned an emotional tribute to her late dad.

Abigail Breslin confirmed that her father, Michael Breslin, died from COVID-19 at the age of 78 on the evening of February 26. Breslin revealed the news in an Instagram post, saying that she was in “shock and devastation”:

Breslin then expressed gratitude for the support she and her family have received during this time. She went on to say she mostly wants to “to remember my dad for who he was.” This led her to share some of her fondest memories of her father:

The actress listed a number of aspects of her father, from his love of Breyers ice cream to his love of animals. Abigail Breslin closed out her sweet post by stating that she will always love and miss her father:

Losing a loved one is never easy, yet Abigail Breslin found a beautiful way to articulate her feelings about her father. You can read her post in its entirety down below:

When Abigail Breslin first revealed her father’s COVID diagnosis, she also included a message. She appealed to the public to do their part and wear masks in order to keep themselves and others safe. Her sentiments match up with the sentiments of other celebrities like Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, both of whom have battled the virus.

While we as a society do seem to be turning a corner when it comes to the COVID pandemic, there’s still work to be done. One can only hope people will act diligently as we continue to contend with this virus.

We here at CinemaBlend extend our thoughts and condolences to Abigail Breslin and her family during this difficult time.

Several days ago, Abigail Breslin’s father was diagnosed with Covid and placed on a ventilator as part of his treatment. The Zombieland star took to social media not long after to ask her fans for prayers and to kindly ask people to wear masks and follow Covid protocols. A day later, she followed up her Instagram post, though this time she was a lot more forceful, telling readers ventilators are more uncomfortable than masks.

In the short but aggressive post, Breslin referenced her hospitalized father and told people they need to shut their mouths and follow Covid protocols because no one should have to go through what her family is going through right now. You can check out her entire post below…

The above post is part of a series of three so far that Abigail Breslin has dropped on Instagram that have touched on her father’s condition. The first was the announcement post asking for prayers. The second was the more aggressive STFU one above and the most recent one was a screenshot of her father’s favorite Rudyard Kipling poem. Breslin said her father always read it to her when she was scared. As such, it’s uniquely fitting for the moment and a good lens into the close relationship the actress and her father seemingly share.

The movie industry has been completely upended by Covid, both in personal and professional capacities. Like hundreds of millions of others around the world, those working in Hollywood have had to deal with family members getting sick and in many cases dying, and others have had to deal with fighting against coronavirus themselves. Movie theaters across the country were shuttered and in some cases, still remain closed. Hundreds of movies were pushed back or changed release dates, and countless more either had to stop filming or had their start dates pushed back, in some cases causing producers to scramble and recast. Those problems are nothing compared to the human toll, but there’s a real question as to whether the industry will ever look like it did prior to Covid.

Abigail Breslin first rose to prominence as a child actress when she was nominated for an Oscar for her terrific work in Little Miss Sunshine. Throughout her teenage years, she starred in a series of other hit movies including Zombieland and later its sequel. She can next be seen in Stillwater opposite Matt Damon and in the upcoming Slayers, which is currently filming.

Our thoughts go out to Breslin, her father and everyone else close to her who is currently dealing with this medical emergency. We all owe it to each other to try and end this deadly pandemic as quickly as possible by being responsible, following protocols and doing our part to look out for each other.

After 17 seasons on the air (so far?), it really should come as no surprise that Grey’s Anatomy can boast a countless number of impressive guest stars, including many stars who can call the sexy medical drama one of their first gigs before becoming a household name. We decided to take on the challenge of identifying as many notable celebrities who appeared on the Shonda Rhimes hit before their big break or in a role small enough to have since fallen into obscurity. We came up with a staggering tally of 23 actors, starting with one beloved Emmy winner who knows a thing or two about playing a medical professional.

Sarah Paulson (Dr. Ellis Grey)

One year before American Horror Story’s 2011 premiere, Sarah Paulson appeared on Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Ellis Grey (Meredith’s mother) in an ‘80s flashback episode that sees her treat an AIDS patient at Seattle Grace when the disease was still new to the public. More recently the actress has played a psychiatrist from hell in Glass, a nurse from hell in Ratched, and also a mom from hell in the hit Hulu original Run.

John Cho (Dr. Marshall Stone)

To lead his acclaimed feature-length debut, Searching, Run director Aneesh Chaganty cast John Cho - also known as Sulu in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies. However, when he appeared on Grey’s Anatomy as a surgical intern in need of surgery after falling asleep at the wheel, the Korean-born actor’s defining role was Harold Lee in the 2004 cult comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, whom he would reprise in two sequels.

Keke Palmer (Sheryll Jeffries)

Also known primarily for comedies (especially for children) was Keke Palmer, when she played a pregnant teen on Grey’s Anatomy’s tenth season. The 27-year-old actress and singer has since gone on to find darker work on horror series like MTV’s Scream and Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens and played a con artist stripper in Hustlers opposite Jennifer Lopez.

Alanna Masterson (Hillary Boyd)

Another “scream queen” to appear on Grey’s Anatomy in her early days is Alanna Masterson, who is best known for playing Tara Chambler for five seasons of The Walking Dead. Her young, seemingly mature, one-off role on the medical drama put her through a different kind of horror when she took psychedelic mushrooms, tried to fly off her roof, and broke 52 bones.

Tessa Thompson (Camille Travis)

Like Alanna Masterson, Tessa Thompson is best known for a comic book role (Valkyrie in the MCU), as well as the Creed franchise, absurdist satire Sorry to Bother You, and high-concept sci-fi thriller Annihilation, to name just a few. Much earlier, in 2006, she played Richard Webber’s niece Camille Travis (later recast in Season 4 by Camille Winbush) before showing up in a different role on the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, in 2009.

Dylan Minnette (Ryan)

Actor and musician Dylan Minnette also appeared on a second Shonda Rhimes hit (Scandal) years after he played a 9-year-old born without external ears on Grey’s Anatomy’s fourth season. The now 24-year-old star would go on to appear in horror movies of a light variety (Goosebumps) and a bleak variety (Don’t Breathe), as well as lead the cast of the teen drama 13 Reasons Why for Netflix.

Sydney Sweeney (Erin Weaver)

Speaking of dark teen dramas, the Emmy-winning HBO series Euphoria is 23-year-old Sydney Sweeney's biggest claim to fame yet, following her role opposite Amy Adams on Sharp Objects and a recurring spot on The Handmaid's Tale for Hulu. Earlier, in a heartbreaking Season 11 episode of Grey's Anatomy, she played the daughter of a man who discovers what he thought was heartburn is actually much worse.

Elisabeth Moss (Nina Rogerson)

Speaking of The Handmaid's Tale, Elisabeth Moss won an Emmy for her lead role on the dystopian drama after receiving several nominations for playing Peggy Olson on Mad Men. The star of acclaimed 2020 horror flick, The Invisible Man, previously appeared on Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy as a woman whose mother suffers from a strange condition that causes her bones to grow when experiencing trauma.

Justina Machado (Anna Nyles)

Also appearing on Grey's Anatomy's third season was actress Justina Machado as a new mother who initially assumes her breast cancer tumor was a clogged milk duct. The 48-year-old former Six Feet Under star later became better known as a nurse and mother on the cancelled Netflix sitcom One Day at a Time and more recently competed as a finalist on Dancing with the Stars.

Jesse Plemons (Jake Burton)

Netflix is also the home of several recent films starring Jesse Plemons, such as the Oscar-nominated The Irishman, Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and El Camino, in which he reprised his sociopathic Breaking Bad character, Todd. Right before landing his first starring role on Friday Night Lights, Plemons was almost completely unrecognizable in his Grey's Anatomy guest spot as a teen with a deadly brain tumor caused by a rare bone disorder.

Dean Norris (Vince)

Fellow Breaking Bad alum Dean Norris also made an early appearance on two episodes of Grey's Anatomy as a mechanic whose friend and colleague is injured in a ferry crash during Season 3. The 57-year-old acting veteran was later cast in the series adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome, landed a recurring spot on Shonda Rhimes' Scandal, and is currently preparing to reprise his role from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for the upcoming sequel.

Abigail Breslin (Megan Clover)

Dean Norris also briefly appears in acclaimed indie comedy Little Miss Sunshine, which earned then 10-year-old Abigail Breslin an Oscar nomination in 2007. Between her 2002 film debut in Signs and that later star-making moment, the future star of the Zombieland movies played a girl whose repeat visits to Seattle Grace brought up suspicions of her foster parents' treatment of her, before it was discovered that her insensitivity to pain was to blame for her frequent accidents.

Leslie Odom Jr. (P.J. Walling)

2020 Was a big year for Leslie Odom Jr. with Hamilton coming to Disney+, the animated musical series Central Park premiering on Apple TV+, and One Night in Miami hitting theaters in December. The actor and singer was still on his way to stardom when he appeared in a Grey's Anatomy episode with an intriguing DC connection as an, initially reluctant, donor in a domino kidney transplant, which Justice League Unlimited voice actors George Newbern (Superman) and Carl Lumbly (Martian Manhunter) are the recipients of.

Maggie Siff (Ruthie Sales)

Like most actors your can think of, Leslie Odom Jr. also appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, much just like Maggie Siff did after playing a woman suffering from osteoporosis on Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy. It would be one of the last of her many early TV guest spots before becoming a notable presence on series like FX's Sons of Anarchy, AMC's Mad Men, and most recently, Showtime's Billions.

Theo Rossi (Stan Giamatti)

Maggie Siff's Sons of Anarchy co-star Theo Rossi, who would go on to play Marvel villain Shades on Netflix's Luke Cage series, has also been a guest on Grey's Anatomy. In a tearjerker two-part episode from Season 4, he played a paramedic, and husband of a Seattle Grace radiologist, who becomes trapped with his partner and best friend after their ambulance collides with another once they've dropped off a patient.

Danielle Panabaker (Kelsey Simmons)

Speaking of TV comic book adaptations, The Flash star Danielle Panabaker was relatively well-known for movies like Disney's teen superhero comedy Sky High, and the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th before she starred in one Grey's Anatomy episode. In Season 6, her character is forced to spend Thanksgiving at Seattle Grace, where she becomes engaged to her boyfriend after successfully receiving a heart transplant.

Jurnee Smollett (Beth Monroe)

Speaking of DC adaptations, Birds of Prey star Jurnee Smollett was probably best known as Michelle Tanner's friend Denise Frazer on Full House years before she played the first survivor of a clinical tumor trial run by Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd, unlike her ill-fated boyfriend, in a two-part Grey's Anatomy episode. Today, the 34-year-old actress has numerous notable credits to her name, most recently the supernatural period drama, Lovecraft Country, on HBO.

Jamie Chung (Trina Paiz)

Jurnee Smollett's Lovecraft Country co-star Jamie Chung has also starred in several comic book adaptations, including Batman prequel series Gotham, the animated Big Hero 6, and its sequel series on Netlflix, the 2014 sequel to Sin City, and the infamous Dragonball Evolution, from 2009. The following year, the Korean actress (also a veteran of MTV's The Real World) played a newlywed forced to spend her honeymoon at Seattle Grace after she and her husband fall 100 feet into a ravine while mountain climbing.

Rachel Brosnahan (Brian Weston)

Her impressive recurring spot on House of Cards, and Emmy win for playing a female comedian in the 1960s in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, has made Rachel Brosnahan one of the most sought after actresses of her generation. Much earlier in her career, the star of the new Amazon Prime original film I'm Your Woman played a young transgender man seeking to complete his sex reassignment surgery at Seattle Grace in Grey's Anatomy's ninth season.

David Denman (Rick Jacobs)

When David Denman appeared on Grey's Anatomy in 2007 as the victim of a faulty parachute, most audiences probably recognized him best from The Office, where he played former Dunder Mifflin employee and the ex-fiancé of Pam Beesly, Roy Anderson. He would later reunite with his old onscreen romantic rival John Krasinski in Michael Bay's 13 Hours, play the father of a Power Ranger, star in Steven Soderbergh's country-fried heist comedy Logan Lucky, and will next appear opposite Kate Winslet in the upcoming HBO mini-series Mare of Easttown.

Millie Bobby Brown (Ruby)

One of the most successful child stars in Hollywood today is British teenager Mille Bobby Brown, who most recently played the title role of Enola Holmes, and will soon reprise her Godzilla: King of the Monsters character in a film that pits the atomic reptile against King Kong. Just one year before first playing young psychokinetic, Eleven, on the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, Brown guest starred on Grey's Anatomy as a young girl receiving medical advice from Seattle Grace over the phone after an earthquake leaves her mother incapacitated at their remote cabin.

How many of these Grey's Anatomy appearances do you remember? Let us know in the comments below!

Looking back, it’s easy to see why Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland was such a big hit. It’s not an overly complex setup from a plot perspective, delivering a road trip through the zombie apocalypse, and the movie features a truly wonderful group of characters to follow, played by an ensemble of four incredibly talented actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. The material is bolstered by the impressive wit and cleverness of screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and what culminates from those ingredients is a really funny, fun adventure that pulls off some real surprises, and even a few scares.

All this in mind, the big question that has surrounded Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland: Double Tap in recent months has been whether or not the magic could be recreated. The production was given all of the same ingredients, with not only Fleischer returning, but also Reese and Wernick and the entire core cast, but that alone did not guarantee that the film would come together successfully like its predecessor.

That’s a lot of pressure for a sequel, especially one being released 10 years later, but it’s a high bar that the movie is able to reach. It turns out that it’s really just immensely enjoyable to hang out with these characters at the end of the world, and with the story throwing a handful of excellent new elements at our heroes – both human and zombie alike – once again audiences get an entertaining, laugh-out-loud ride.

Following reality’s timeline, Zombieland: Double Tap picks up with its main characters 10 years after the rise of the flesh-eating undead, and they have basically settled into a routine. They’ve taken up residence at the White House, and their group dynamics haven’t much changed. The timorous, “rules”-obsessed Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has maintained a romantic relationship with Wichita (Emma Stone), though he is ready to commit, while she still remains terrified at the prospect of getting too close to anyone. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), meanwhile, is still the same brash, catch phrase-spouting redneck, though he has also taken Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) under his wing like a daughter – something that the young woman bridles against as she is reaching leave-the-nest age.

With tensions rising in the group, the two sisters pull off a familiar move and split in the middle of the night… but things don’t go exactly as planned. A few days after leaving, Wichita returns to the White House with news that Little Rock left her in the lurch as well, sneaking away with an acoustic guitar-playing pacifist named Berkeley (Avan Jogia).

The trio once again hits the road so that they can try and find Little Rock – but this time they are joined by a fresh face in Madison (Zoey Deutch), an energetic ditz who has survived the rise of zombies by living in a freezer at the mall.

The greatest strength that Zombieland: Double Tap possesses is the fact that the character voices feel impressively familiar, lending the movie a feeling of reuniting with old friends. A lot has changed for the core cast in the last 10 years, with the group together earning six Academy Award nominations and one victory, plus Abigail Breslin becoming an actual adult, but their return to these particular personalities and energies feels effortless. They’ve matured and have a level of comfortability together to the extent that it doesn’t all feel like material we’ve seen before, but these are also definitely still the individuals we fell for back in 2009.

Further helping balance the scales in that particular arena is the excellent injection of new that Zombieland: Double Tap gets from its fresh faces. While you might think that a “dumb blonde” character in 2019 might be too much of a trope to work, you’re actually dead wrong, as Zoey Deutch is an impressive scene-stealer who generates some of the biggest laughs of the movie, both with fantastic comedic timing, and some great physicality.

And while their roles aren’t quite as big, similar sentiments can be shared about the roles played by Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch. Set up as a foil for Tallahassee, Dawson’s Nevada is a wonderful, Elvis-loving, tough-as-nails ass-kicker, while Wilson and Middleditch make for an excellent mirror duo for Eisenberg and Harrelson – the differences between them being that Middleditch’s Flagstaff has survived Zombieland with a set of commandments instead of rules; and Wilson’s Albuquerque isn’t totally emotionally stunted and able to compliment his partner when he does a good job.

The sequel is even able to get a bit novel with its worldbuilding, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to check back in with a zombie apocalypse 10 years after it started. Not only is there the interesting idea explored that none of the events from the last decade in our own timeline played out in the fictional universe, but there is even a smart advancement in the way in which the characters deal with the monstrous cannibals that have taken over the Earth. After years of slaying, they’ve discovered that the population of the walking dead basically breaks down into two categories: the dimwitted “Homers,” and the surprisingly-clever “Hawkings.”

Not only does this have a cool effect on the way Zombieland: Double Tap approaches its attack scenes, with the characters creating strategies based on the demographics of the hordes they are facing, but it also provides a smart opportunity for raised stakes. The heroes have gotten so comfortable killing the two kinds of undead that they are almost bored, but then they get wind of a new kind of evolved zombie (“T-800s,” named after The Terminator) that are stronger and faster than anything Columbus, Wichita, Tallahassee, and Little Rock have ever seen.

The film isn’t exactly a game-changer, as while it doesn’t fall into the devastating sequel trap of repeating all the same gags from the original, it does have a very familiar structure. But this isn’t a movie that needed to break the mold to succeed. Zombieland: Double Tap is a solid addition to the big screen zom-com legacy, and a funny, freaky 10 year reunion.

It’s been almost a full decade since Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland first surprised the hell out of us, becoming one of the best horror comedies in recent memory and a box office smash. Because of this success, the last 10 years have seen incessant calls for a sequel, but both the filmmakers and stars have been busy with other huge endeavors. Now, however, the wait for the follow-up is almost over, as Zombieland: Double Tap is in the works and preparing to make its way to a theater near you this year.

The Zombieland sequel is currently on track to hit its October 2, 2019 release date, with Ruben Fleischer back in the director’s chair, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick once again penning the script. We have not heard a great deal about what’s going on in regards to the plot, but one thing we do know is that the cast is totally stacked. Not only are the principal stars of the first movie coming back, but they will be joined by a number of other great talents in Zombieland: Double Tap. So without further ado, let’s take a look at who is on-board so far:

Jesse Eisenberg

The first Zombieland introduced us to Columbus as a nebbish-y, loner college student with a serious fear of clowns, but his journey through the story opened him up in a big way and he became a great deal more brave and adventurous. Of course, he still has his rules to live by, and presumably they’ve helped him survive in the last 10 years.

For Jesse Eisenberg, Zombieland notably debuted almost exactly a year before The Social Network, which was a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. In that time he has also starred in three franchises - Rio, Now You See Me, and the DC Extended Universe - and has continued his work in a significant number of impressive independent films.

Emma Stone

Speaking of Academy Awards, Emma Stone has also had a great deal of Oscar success in the time since Zombieland, not only being nominated for her turn in Birdman, but winning the Best Actress prize for La La Land. She is actually up for another statute this year thanks to her amazing The Favourite performance, and since 2009 has unquestionably has become one of the brightest stars in Hollywood.

She will reprise her role as Wichita in Zombieland: Double Tap – bringing back the character who was notably an at-all-costs survivor. The friends she made in the first movie did a lot to soften her edges – we even learned her first name is Krista – but we’ll have to wait and see what consequences rise from the stakes of the sequel.

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson was the notable veteran of the first Zombieland principal cast, but he kicked more ass than all of them put together. Tallahassee is a man who is very at home in the zombie apocalypse (minus the lack of Twinkies), as he has a lot of rage to get out, and does so by killing the undead by any means necessary. We know he has a tragic backstory involving the loss of a son, but finding a new family by the end of the first movie seemed to fill the void in him.

Harrelson just recently worked with Ruben Fleischer again, appearing in the post-credits scene of Venom as serial killer Cletus Kasady, but has also been quite ubiquitous in recent years. He earned a great deal of praise for his part opposite Matthew McConaughey in HBO’s True Detective, but has also been making huge movies like War For The Planet Of The Apes, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Hunger Games and the Now You See Me features with Jesse Eisenberg. He also just earned his third Academy Award nomination last year for his work in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, so, all in all, he’s in a really great place.

Abigail Breslin

Abigail Breslin will long be remembered for her wonderful breakout performance as the diminutive Olive Hoover in 2006's Little Miss Sunshine (a part that earned her first Oscar nod) - but the first Zombieland was one of her most mature roles, and she has continued growing as an actress with a lot of film and television work in the last 10 years. In addition to features like August: Osage County and Final Girl, she's also been active on the small screen with a season of Scream Queens.

As for her part in Zombieland: Double Tap, it’s worth noting that Little Rock was only 12 when we last saw her – so it will be interesting to see the results of maturity through the zombie apocalypse. She could always look after herself, but presumably now she’ll be extra equipped to do so, with extra skills learned over the years.

Rosario Dawson

While we know absolutely nothing about the plot of Zombieland: Double Tap, we do know that the main cast has grown, with one of the new additions being Rosario Dawson. The actress doesn’t have a great deal of horror experience – with Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof being the standout title – but she has proven comedy chops, so hopefully she’ll get a lot of opportunity to make us laugh in the upcoming movie.

Zoey Deutch

Zoey Deutch was one of the first new additions to Zombieland: Double Tap, having signed on to star in the movie in November 2018, though sadly the time since then has not provided any insight to what her role will be in the film. The daughter of actress Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch, the actress is probably still be described as an up-and-comer, though she has been in some notable movies like Richard Linklanter's Everybody Wants Some!! and James Franco's The Disaster Artist. In addition to her work on the Zombieland sequel, she also has a part in Ryan Murphy's new series The Politician.

Thomas Middleditch

Thomas Middleditch is certainly better known for his TV work, being the star of the beloved HBO series Silicon Valley, but he's set to have a big year in cinemas in 2019. It starts in the summer with his part in Mike Dougherty's monster blockbuster Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, but he'll follow that up in the fall with a role in Zombieland: Double Tap. We don’t know who he will be playing (following the pattern here?), but we will definitely update this article as we learn more.

Luke Wilson

Luke Wilson has had a long acting career, with highlights in both film and TV. While it's currently unknown what role he'll be playing in Zombieland's highly anticipated sequel, he's got the resume to warrant his inclusion in the comedy/horror film. His comedic chops are what Wilson is known best for, with roles in Legally Blonde, The Ridiculous Six, and Old School. But he's also had some work that lends itself more to the dramatic, so he's a solid casting choice to bring into Zombieland: Double Tap.

Who would you like to see join the cast of Zombieland: Double Tap? Hit the comments section below with your thoughts and suggestions, and come back periodically to see who else will be joining the new horror-comedy!

Dirty Dancing is one of those films that just keeps its popularity even as the decades go by. The 1987 romantic drama is now considered a classic; and women still swoon when they think of Johnny and Baby slowly falling in love and him saving her from a staid life on the sidelines when he declares to her family, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” See? Swoon.

The ABC remake of the well-loved film is well under way, and since the cast keeps growing, we’re here to keep track of all the newest developments for you. So, let’s take a look at who’s already signed up to take on some of the iconic roles.

Abigail Breslin - Baby

Taking over for Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing will be Abigail Breslin. Breslin started making commericials when she was only three-years-old, and had her first major film role in 2002’s Signs. She went on to have her breakout in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, a part that garnered her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. Breslin has appeared in dozens of TV shows and movies, including Zombieland, Ender’s Game, NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, and the film Janie Jones, where she had a chance to show off her singing voice by performing several songs on the soundtrack. She was most recently seen on TV in FOX’s Scream Queens.

Colt Prattes - Johnny

Colt Prattes is not a name many of you will know, but I bet a lot of people would recognize his most famous bit of work. Prattes, who will be taking on the role Patrick Swayze immortalized as Johnny, starred with pop star P!nk in the video for her song “Try.” He also toured with the singer and appeared on stage with her to recreate their breathtaking dance number at the 2014 Grammy Awards and American Music Awards. Prattes is also an actor and singer who’s made a name for himself in those areas in the Las Vegas production of Rock of Ages as rock megastar Stacee Jaxx.

Debra Messing - Marjorie Houseman

Alright, I know this seems like a bit of a surprising choice, but Debra Messing has, indeed been signed to play Baby’s devoted mother and meticulous Houseman family housewife. Messing is, of course, very well-known for her part as half of the main duo on NBC’s Will & Grace for eight years. She’s most known for her work in TV, which has included The Starter Wife and her current show, The Mysteries of Laura. But, the role that will have the most impact on her performance in the Dirty Dancing remake is her part on the too-short-lived musical Smash.

Nicole Scherzinger - Penny

As naïve resort dancer Penny, Nicole Scherzinger will take on the part a working class woman who gets herself into a bit of trouble, which just happens to open the way for Baby and Johnny to work together and wind up in love. Scherzinger is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls. The singer, dancer and actress has also sold 16 million records as a solo artist. Scherzinger acted as a judge on The X Factor in the U.S. and the U.K. and most recently co-hosted Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris. While she’s not known for her acting, she did receive a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her part as Grizabella in the West End production of Cats.

Sarah Hyland - Lisa Houseman

Baby needs an older sister, and Modern Family actress Sarah Hyland is up for the challenge. Hyland has been acting sine the age of four, and got her first movie credit in Private Parts in 1997. Since then she’s appeared in Law & Order, Spanglish, One Life to Live, Childrens Hospital, Vampire Academy and the TV mini-series Bonnie & Clyde.

Billy Dee Williams - Tito

Well, if you need a resort bandleader named Tito for Dirty Dancing, you want someone smooth as ice cream and just as sweet. For a part like that, you can’t do better than Billy Dee Williams, king of all things smooth, charming and sweet in the 1970s. Williams broke out in the 1971 TV movie Brian’s Song, then made his name by starring as charismatic romantic leads in films like Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany. He’s also had leading roles in Scott Joplin, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings and Nighthawks. Williams is probably best known, though, for his part as Lando Calrissian in two of the original Stars Wars films.

J. Quinton Johnson - Marco

Every band needs a lead singer, and J. Quinton Johnson will be playing Marco, the leader singer and guitarist of Tito's band at the resort and one of the vacation spot's stars. Johnson just made his film debut in SXSW's opening night film, Everybody Wants Some! The film's director, Richard Linklater, discovered Johnson while he was finishing his degree in Musical Theater at the University of Texas.

Beau “Casper” Smart - Billy

Beau “Casper” Smart is taking on the role of Billy in the Dirty Dancing remake. In the film, Billy is Johnny's cousin, and he meets Baby while on his way to the staff quarters. Baby goes along and has her introduction to "dirty dancing" and comes into contact with Johnny for the first time. This version of Billy will be an old friend of Johnny's who got him the job at the resort and likes to dance with the staff at their after hours parties. Smart is a dancer and actor who's appeared in a number of projects. His work can be seen in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, How I Met Your Mother, Glee, Step Up 3D and The Big Bang Theory.

Bruce Greenwood - Dr. Jake Houseman

Baby won't need to escape her life without someone to put her in the corner, so the movie needs Dr. Jake Houseman to lead the family and lay down expectations. Bruce Greenwood is the new head of the Houseman family. Greenwood has been a mainstay in film and television for several decades. He got his start on the 1977-1978 series The Beachcombers, and has gone on to make a long career for himself. He's appeared in First Blood, Matlock, St. Elsewhere, Knots Landing, I, Robot, Flight and the rebooted Star Trek franchise, among his 137 credits. He was most recently seen in FX's American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson

Shane Harper - Robbie

You might not remember Robbie from the original film, but he does play an important, though minor, role as the womanizing waiter who romances Baby's sister Lisa. Shane Harper will be taking on the part for the ABC remake. Harper got his start singing, dancing and acting in community theater when he was 9-years-old, and got his first TV credit in 2006. Since then, he's had parts in Hight School Musical 2 and Zoey 101, but's he's best known for his work in Good Luck Charlie, Awkward and the film God's Not Dead.

Katey Sagal - Vivian

Every smallish community like Kellerman's resort needs someone ultra sultry to stir things up, and Vivian fills the bill for them. The former beauty queen revels in seducing much younger male staff members at the resort, like our boy Johnny. At the time we meet Vivian, she's recently divorced and super rich, thanks to that divorce. She introduces Marjorie to the free-wheeling single life and makes the married mother of two think twice about her own relationship. Katey Sagal is best known for her parts in Married with Children, Sons of Anarchy and her voice work on Futurama, but she's racked up a total of 73 credits since her first on screen appearance in a TV movie in 1971.

Trevor Einhorn - Neil

Neil is the lanky, unrefined and tightly wound heir to Kellerman's resort who befriends Baby and has an obvious crush on her, which Baby's dad would love to see reciprocated. Despite his lesser traits, though, he's incredibly charming and honorable. Trevor Einhorn's screen career goes back to 1994 when he appeared in Disclosure. He's since worked on Frasier, Sons & Daughters, The Office and Mad Men.

The Dirty Dancing remake is well on its way to having a full leading cast now, and they have already made some amazing and interesting choices. Now, who can’t wait to see what these fine actors do with these classic roles?

NCIS has been on the air for a whopping 13 seasons (and is renewed for more). In that time, a slew of famous faces have popped up on the series in guest starring roles and stints. While most of these appearances haven’t had the nerd cred that guests on The Big Bang Theory or various superhero shows have, many have been memorable in their own right. So, we culled through all of the names who have popped up on the show and ranked them by sheer awesomeness, how memorable their characters were and how well they were utilized within NCIS’ case-of-the-week plot.

Without further ado, and with zero apologies to all of the snubbed Lost actors, here is our list of the top 10 greatest guest stars on NCIS, ranked. You can check them out, below.

10. Zac Efron

Back in Season 3, the CBS drama enlisted the help of Zac Efron in an episode called "Deception." It was a small role, but it gave Zac Efron the chance to shine before he was famous. In fact, the episode aired just a few short weeks before High School Musical hit the schedule, propelling the young actor to fame. The rest is history.

9. Lindsay Wagner

This is one of the few geeky castings that NCIS has indulged in. Anyone familiar with Bionic Woman should know Lindsay Wagnar played the lead in the 1970s TV series. She popped up more recently in a Season 13 episode that gave us a little more insight into Ellie’s backstory. Wagner played her mother, Barbara, who doled out plenty of life advice to her daughter and even shared some embarrassing Bishop stories with Gibbs during her time onscreen. It was a classic stint, and even better, there’s theoretically potential for her to pop back up in the future!

8. Terry O'Quinn

Honestly, it was really difficult choosing who to throw into this slot. There have been a handful of Lost alumni on the series over the years, and choosing between Josh Holloway—who was on NCIS back in 2004 before Lost started—Emilie de Ravin—who appeared way back in 2003—is never an easy prospect. What we liked about Terry O’Quinn’s gig was that the man played a recurring character on JAG during its run. Those who are familiar know that NCIS is a spinoff of JAG. While O’Quinn did play a different character on NCIS--one with a history with Gibbs--it was super cool that he could appear on both shows.

7. Lily Tomlin

We’ve obviously proven we’re fond of the family members of major characters showing up, especially when they are played by famous actors and actresses. In the Season 9 episode “The Penelope Papers,” Lily Tomlin was cast to play none other than McGee’s grandmother, an ex-hippie with some secrets related to hybrid caterpillars. Yes, it was a weird episode, but we're still thinking about it years and years later.

6. Abigail Breslin

Abigail Breslin is set to play the lead in the upcoming Dirty Dancing TV movie, but when she appeared on NCIS way back in 2004, she was much, much younger. The cute little girl had already appeared in Signs but this was even before her big Little Miss Sunshine debut. Still, you could tell in the Season 2 premiere that a star was being born, as Abigail Breslin played a young, blind pianist who was kidnapped and suffered under her captor, only to find out it was someone close to her who had kidnapped her later on. This was one NCIS stint we haven’t forgotten.

5. Bob Newhart

Comedian legend Bob Newhart was the star of several famous TV shows, but these days, he’s been crushing the world of guest stints. He’s probably more famous for guesting on The Big Bang Theory as the belated Professor Proton, but his role on NCIS was also a good one. He played Dr. Walter Magnus, the former NCIS chief medical examiner who was replaced by Donald Mallard. In the Season 8 episode, he came way out of retirement to help with a case, but it ended on a sad note when we learned Magnus was suffering from Alzheimers. NCIS doesn’t often get emotional, but this stint really had a big aww moment at the end.

4. Colin Hanks

Colin Hanks recently played an endearing cop on Fargo, but on NCIS, he was a quite a bit more unlikeable. Hanks’ character, Parsons, was around for 3 episodes in Season 11. During that time, the cast members actually referred to him as “Evil McGee,” because he looked similar to Sean Murray’s character, but was inherently nothing like him. Eventually Parsons’ plans to get Gibbs out of the game were foiled and the team moved forward, unimpeded. It was still a great guest stint, though.

3. Jon Cryer

Jon Cryer’s appearance on NCIS was really special, mostly because Cryer is a CBS alum who really loves the show. The long-running series figured out a way to sign the former Two and a Half Men actor on for several episodes. The actor played Navy surgeon Dr. Taft and saved Gibbs’ life early on in Season 13. Not a bad way to spend a multi-episode guest stint.

2. Billy Dee Williams

Star Wars actor Billy Dee Williams guest starred on NCIS back in the Season 10 episode “The Namesake”, playing Gibbs’ namesake Leroy Jethro Moore, who had a falling out with Gibbs’ father many years ago. While a case was still investigated during the episode, the big moment was when Gibbs’ dad and LJ finally met to make amends many years after their initial friendship fell apart. It’s a stint that nearly made the top of our list.

1. Jamie Lee Curtis

Like Jon Cryer and a few of the other guest stars on this list, Jamie Lee Curtis was important enough to pop up in multiple episodes, playing Gibbs’ girlfriend, Samantha Ryan. She’s not a basic love interest on the procedural, though. She proved helpful to Gibbs and the team with a case in Season 9 regarding Harper Dearing. Unfortunately, she also had a scary ex, and when Mr. Dearing helped her ex to leave prison, she dropped everything and left, thus ending what we feel was the greatest guest stint in the history of NCIS.

Close But No Cigar:Jaleel White, Corey Stoll, Eric Stonestreet, all the other former Lost cast members, Jeri Ryan, Hal Holbrook, Robert Patrick

This poll is no longer available.

It looks like Dirty Dancing is getting a small screen adaption of sorts. This morning, Lionsgate TV and ABC announced they will be producing a TV version of Dirty Dancing that will head to the small screen as a “filmed performance.” So, it’ll be similar to The Wiz Live! or The Sound of Music Live! only minus the live aspect, which does ruin the effect a little. This morning, ABC stated that Dirty Dancing will be moving forward at the network and the company has already signed on a young actress to play Baby, the famous role originated by Jennifer Grey back in 1987. Coming up, Baby will be played by none other than Abigail Breslin.

So far, we don’t know a ton about the Dirty Dancing project beyond the lead and the fact that the plot is very similar to the film of the same name, which follows a young woman named Baby who goes on vacation with her family but ends up spending most of her time falling in love with her dance instructor. A release from ABC indicates that Dirty Dancing will be a three-hour event, produced by Allison Shearmur and Eleanor Bergstein. If both of those names sound familiar, it’s because both women are well known in the movies world. Shearmur has been an executive producer on the last three Hunger Games movies. Bergstein, on the other hand, is most famous for originally writing Dirty Dancing way back in the eighties. Adam Anders and Judy Cairo will also produce.

Along with the producing team, Jessica Sharzer just rewrote Dirty Dancing to get it to work for a song and dance-oriented TV special. Hamilton and Annie choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler will be putting together the choreography for the special and Gosford Park’s Stephen Altman will be in charge of production design. Wayne Blair will direct the ABC and Lionsgate venture.

ABC’s big announcement comes on the heels of NBC’s success with The Wiz Live! last week, and the company certainly seems to be taking advantage of musical productions of this ilk to also make some money. ABC isn’t the only network to be taking a cue from NBC. Quite a while ago, Fox announced it will be airing Grease Live!, a live TV musical adaptation that also has an a-list cast, including Vanessa Hudgens, Julianne Hough and many, many more involved. That adaptation is set to air this winter, on January 31.

Breslin has mostly had a career on the big screen in projects from Little Miss Sunshine to Ender’s Game, but this season she transitioned to TV, signing on with Scream Queens.

There’s no timeline for when Dirty Dancing will officially get off the ground, but the project seems to have a pretty firm foundation at this point. We’ll keep you updated as ABC continues to add new members to the Dirty Dancing cast. In the meantime, let’s all discuss which dreamy actor could possibly take on the iconic role of Johnny Castle, perfected by Patrick Swayze all those years ago.

Ryan Murphy knows how to put together some amazing casts, as well as some disturbing visuals, and that’s no different for his upcoming Fox horror comedy anthology Scream Queens, which already locked in Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts. This inaugural season has gained four more actors in Glee’s Lea Michele, Ender’s Game’s Abigail Breslin, Nickelodeon star-turned-pop musician Ariana Grande, True Blood’s Joe Manganiello, and True Jackson, VP’s Keke Palmer. That’s a…killer…array of performers.

While plot details are being kept under wraps for now, Scream Queens will spend 15 episodes telling a story set on a college campus where a series of murders send everyone into hysterics. According to THR, a casting breakdown says three young women will lead the series, along with Curtis’ role and a father role. I’d say all the bases are covered here if that’s a legit report. Let’s take a look at each of the actors now.

Beyond a little voicework and a cameo on Sons of Anarchy, Lea Michele’s acting resume is pretty blank, so her hopping into a comedy horror is a fairly fascinating thing to consider. Her role within the show isn’t hinted at, but you can damned sure be certain the Murphy-Michele connection will lead to a musical performance of some kind. Or several.

Abigail Breslin is likely to be a co-lead with Roberts, according to THR, which would work well, since she’s well-versed in spookier genres. Accompanying her roles in Little Miss Sunshine and August: Osage County are leading parts in Zombieland, Haunter and The Call. Her upcoming roles are for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring zombie drama Maggie and Tyler Shields’ vengeful thriller Final Girl. She’s meant to break into TV on something filled with dead people.

Along with Michele, this will be Ariana Grande’s first shot at such adult material, as she’s more used to series like Sam & Cat and Victorious. She’s pegged for a recurring role, rather than a starring one, so she’ll probably be in the ones where Lea Michele sings a lot. There will be singing, dammit. Or queens screaming in tune at the very least.

The former Flash Thompson, Joe Manganiello’s main claim to fame in the horror genre has been True Blood, in which he played the testosterone-oozing werewolf Alcide. He’s definitely the right age for a “Father” role, although I hope he gets to do shit besides just reacting to what his daughter and her friends are going crazy over. I’m into him leading a neighborhood manhunt.

And then there’s Keke Palmer, who co-starred with Ariana Grande in a voice role sense on the various Winx Club series. She was in last year’s blood-soaked horror Animal from Brett Simmons, as well as a few episodes of Showtime’s Masters of Sex, but has yet to find a solid role to call her own. Let’s hope Scream Queens is it.

This first installment of Scream Queens is set to go into production this spring, and will air this fall on Fox. Do you guys like this new assortment of cast members?

Haunted house movies have become such a regular part of the movie release slate recently that you might feel exhausted by them. Maybe you think you’ve seen it all by now. Well, hold that thought, because you haven’t yet seen horror auteur Vincenzo Natali’s take on haunted house. The trailer above, tipped by The Playlist, is for Natali’s Haunter. Okay, the title is a snooze, but this creepy feature boasts ghosts, a mystery, a serial killer, and something deeply twisted.

Written by Brian King, Haunter stars Abigail Breslin as Lisa, a teen girl desperately bored of her family’s mind-numbing routine. But then she realizes they are not the only ones living in their home—well, living might not be the right word. The house is haunted by a string of girls all murdered over the years by a methodical serial killer. Now Lisa must join forces with them to stop this evil man before he can kill again.

I’ll be honest, there are parts of the trailer that are downright confusing. But as familiar with Natali’s movies as I am, I’d expect nothing less. His complicated plots don’t tend to fare well in trailers. The Detroit-born helmer made his feature directorial debut with the low-budget Canadian horror-thriller Cube. It’s the kind of movie you channel surf into on a lazy Saturday and then can’t turn away from (I speak from experience). The thriller follows seven strangers all trapped in a shifting prison where escape is next to impossible, and death could meet you at every open cell door. It was a mind-bending movie that was both scary and disturbing. So it understandably sparked a fandom among horror fans for Natali.

He followed Cube up with the critically cheered sci-fi thriller Cypher in 2002. Then a comedy called Nothing came and went before Natali returned to form with the deeply deranged science-gone-wrong feature Splice in 2009. The sci-fi horror-thriller starred Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as two geneticists who splice human DNA with animal DNA to create a dangerous new hybrid. While Splice became Natali’s most well received effort among critics, the $30 million movie proved a flop at the box office earning only $26 million. This financial failure seemed a dark omen for Natali’s future, but thankfully this imaginative filmmaker has scared up funds for a whole new feature.

Further stoking my enthusiasm for Haunter is Breslin in the lead role. Earlier this year, I admittedly rolled my eyes when I saw she was playing a teen tormented by a would-be serial killer in the Halle Berry vehicle The Call. But that was before I actually saw the movie and loved it for all its dedicated mayhem and go-for-broke gory gusto! Sure, she was Little Miss Sunshine, but now she’s grown up and gearing for the title of Scream Queen. Does she deserve the crown? We’ll find out when Haunter opens on October 18th.

Casting on Gavin Hood’s Ender’s Game has hit warp speed, as a pair of high-profile actors rumored to be circling the cast have now been confirmed.

In the sci-fi genre, few loom larger than Harrison Ford, who Variety says officially has signed on to play Colonel Hyram Graff in the adaptation of author Orson Scott Card's beloved novel. Graff’s tasked with training an army of young strategists in a battle against an insect-like alien race. Hugo star Asa Butterfield will play Ender Wiggin, a video game expert who becomes Graff’s top recruit in the efforts to prepare for a devastating invasion.

In addition to Ford – as if he wasn’t enough – Variety confirms that fellow (but significantly younger) Oscar nominees Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld have been added to Summit Entertainment’s production, which is eyeballing a March 15, 2013 release date. Breslin would play Ender’s older sister, Valentine, while “True Grit” star Steinfeld has been cast as Petra Arkanian, Ender’s closest ally.

Hood already has cast Aramis Knight, Moises Arias, Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak, Suraj Parthasarathy, Conor Carroll and Khylin Rhambo in his production, which joins the ranks of The Hunger Games, John Carter and Total Recall as anticipated genre literature making its way to the big screen in the coming years. The director’s best known for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, though he also helmed Rendition and the underrated Tsotsi in 2005.

Production on Ender’s Game begins early next year in New Orleans. Do you think Ford’s the right choice to play Graff alongside Butterfield? Or, after Cowboys & Aliens, are you wondering if Ford should give the sci-fi genre a rest for the time being? Graff sounds like the kind of gruff, superior character Ford’s capable of playing in his sleep. Let’s just hope he doesn’t sleepwalk through it. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

What is it about animated films that they are consistently able to pull in huge casts of big name talent? It may have something to do with their unstoppable earning potential and the fact that these actors can record their entire role in a day. Sometimes so many notable names sign on to an animated film that it seems like Steven Soderbergh must be directing it. According to Screen Daily, that is definitely the case with Triggerfish Animation’s Zambezia, South Africa’s first 3D animated feature.

Zambezia recently snared the voice talents of Samuel L Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, Abigail Breslin, and Leonard Nimoy. This is not only an impressive lineup, but nicely works into the tried-and-true formula for animated fare. It is not enough for an animated film to pile on as many big names as humanly possible; those actors also have to be blessed with distinct voices that allow the audience to connect with their unique characters. Jackson, Nimoy, and Goldblum definitely have that going for them, and as for Breslin, it’s always good to have a young actor/actress on the roster to lend a genuine spark to the naïve upstart character.

The plot of Zambezia revolves around a young falcon who is forced to defend his fellow birds of prey and the sanctuary in which they live. The title of the film comes from the Zambezi waterfalls in Africa where the film is set-- they're known better here as the Victoria Falls. The most recent animated film about talking birds to be released in theaters was this year’s Rio, which did only marginally well here in the States ($143 million) but made an absolute killing in the foreign markets. ($340 million). It will be interesting to see how an international animated picture does both in the U.S. and worldwide. It may attract a few extra ticket sales based on the added novelty element of being South Africa’s first 3D animated film.

World, watch out for Abigail Breslin. Thanks to nine years of work, we know she’s a talented actress, but Janie Jones really proves she’s on another level. The film not only reveals her as an incredibly talented singer, but as an actress who can take a subpar script, breathe life into it and make it somewhat enjoyable.

Breslin is Janie Jones, a 13-year-old with an addict for a mother (Elisabeth Shue). When mom decides to get clean, she opts to leave Janie with her father, semi-rock star Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola). Too bad Ethan doesn’t even know he has a kid. Despite being unconvinced he’s really the father, when Janie’s mother bails, Ethan is left with no choice but to bring Janie aboard his tour bus.

Janie isn’t troublesome in the least; it’s her father that causes all the problems. Not only does he stomp around unwilling to accept the fact that he has a child, but his drinking gets out of control as does his attitude. When his escapades become too much to handle, Ethan’s band and manager decide it’s time to part ways leaving Ethan and Janie alone.

While the story is sweet, it’s one we’ve heard many times before; the wise beyond her years child taking care of her immature dad, the young girl with the single mom going off to meet her reluctant daddy for the first time, the rock star parent with the equally talented kid. Generally, the premise works. Janie Jones slows at times, but overall is engaging enough to keep you entertained. However, this satisfaction hits only on the surface; it never penetrates and that’s because you can see just about everything coming from miles away.

None of the characters are original, therefore their behavior isn’t either. The second Janie busts out her guitar not only do we know she can sing just as well, if not better, than Ethan, but that her talent will come into play later in the game. What else does this not so subtly hint at? That Ethan will lose his bandmates. Sure enough, Ethan explodes and they take that as their cue to head home. We know where Janie Jones is going less than 15 minutes into the film.

The only time the film manages to crack the mold and really make an impression is during the few moments Breslin and Nivola really connect. Other than those two, most of the relationships in the film are quite contrived. Shue’s character is your quintessential druggie and she seems to be enjoying it, taking her performance to the max. As for Ethan’s bandmates, the only one that stands out is Frank Whaley as drummer Chuck as he controls one of the film’s most memorably amusing yet heart wrenching scenes. Peter Stormare also finds success as Ethan’s manager, Sloan. Not only is Sloan’s relationship with Ethan well established and honest, but so is his connection with Janie. It’s subtle yet weighty.

But what the film comes down to is the relationship between Ethan and Janie and while Nivola makes a good effort, this film wouldn’t stand a chance without Breslin. She’s just so undeniably natural, she could be rattling off any old uninspired dialogue, and she does at times in the film, and you still believe every word she says. Nivola is quite one-note through most of the piece, portraying Ethan as an angry drunk, but when he rises to Breslin’s level those are the moments that make the film worthwhile.

Director David M. Rosenthal would have nailed it had he had a tighter script. He has an eye and an ear for film, but a weakly paced story with far too many meaningless moments and tacky dialogue taint his vision and tunes. Then again, Rosenthal seems to know what he wanted, maintaining an appropriately washed out palette, guitar-strumming score and, unfortunately, a very deliberate pace. Had the film had more forward motion, audiences might be more willing to forgive the predictability of the story making Janie Jones a more entertaining experience.

Thanks to Little Miss Sunshine, we know Abigail Breslin has some dance moves... kind of. But since when can she sing? Her Janie Jones co-star, Alessandro Nivola, already had some musical ability having sung in Laurel Canyon, but Breslin was going in cold. Well, as quickly as this young actress adapts from character to character is as quickly as she picked up on singing and guitar-playing because she and Nivola successfully take their performances one step further in David M. Rosenthal’s Janie Jones, creating not only compelling characters, but a fantastic soundtrack, too.

Nivola plays Ethan Brand, the front man in a band whose tour is interrupted when an ex-fling decides it’s time to introduce him to his daughter, Janie Jones. When mom splits and leaves Janie behind, Ethan’s left with no choice, but to take her in and let her hit the road with the band. Trouble is, not only is Ethan incredibly uncomfortable with playing dad, but he’s harboring an alcohol problem as well. When everything boils over and he teeters on the edge of losing everything he’s worked for, the only one capable of grounding him is the loving and talented daughter he never even knew he had.

As nerve-racking as it was for Breslin to adapt to singing and playing the guitar, one of the most jarring changes was that of the actor playing her dad. Nivola stepped in just days before shooting began and only met Breslin the day before the camera rolled. (Or so they claim. It could all be CGI, couldn’t it?) Anyway, in honor of Janie Jones’ US Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Nivola and Breslin sat down to tell us all about their roles, experience working together, their next projects and much more. Check it all out for yourself in the video interview below and keep an eye out for the film, which is due out in theaters and on VOD this summer.

We reported yesterday that Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly joining Hailee Steinfeld in serious consideration to play Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, Lionsgate's planned adaptation of the young adult novel series that they're hoping will be the next Twilight. Now Variety is adding a third name to the list, and yet another Oscar nominee: Abigail Breslin.

Lawrence is apparently still in the lead, but the studio still hasn't decided if they want the character to play younger or older. If they go with Lawrence she may play too old by the time they get to the third book as she already looks older than her 20 years. Breslin or Steinfeld would grow into the role, and since Steinfeld is working of a recent Oscar nom, expect her to land it if she wants it.

The Hunger Games, which is set for a release date in March 2012, will be based on the first novel in Suzanne Collins's trilogy of books. The story is set in a destroyed North America run by the Capitol. Every year a boy and a girl are selected to participate in the Hunger Games where they must fight to the death as entertainment for the Capitol. Our hero, Katniss, volunteers to enter the games in place of her younger sister and this is where our story begins.

Hunger Games is a trilogy of novels so this could potentially be a big break for an up and coming young actress, not unlike the role of Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, except it plays younger. More on this as they near production.

Gore Verbinski's Rango remains a bit of a mystery. Even after an announcement piece came out earlier this month, audiences were perplexed why a movie about a chameleon suffering from an identity crisis would be advertised with a giant toy fish. Even stranger, the film sports a cast that includes Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone, and Timothy Olyphant, and not a single character was revealed. The newest update to the film's website doesn't give us much information as to who the characters are, but at least we get to see them.

When the site first launched alongside the announcement piece it featured a long strip of desert, and not much more. Now there are all kinds of interactive goodies, three of which reveal some characters from the film:

• The guitar - Scrolling over the guitar produces a strum, but if you wave your mouse over the strings long enough, an owl wearing a mariachi hat shows up on screen to play a little diddy on his electric guitar.
• 
  
• The toad - On the right side of the first screen you can see what, at first glance, appears to be a gray lump. Clicking on the lump, however, reveals that it is actually a giant cane toad who is trying to catch some z's. Clicking on him multiple times will result in different reactions, all of which have the same general message: go away.
• 
  
• The pillbug/gophers - After clicking on the toad, move your mouse slowly down and to the right - this should reveal a second page. Click on what appears to be a ball (and is actually a pillbug) and it will roll into a nearby gopher hole. If you do this enough times, a pair of gophers will emerge and will say something about a bank and making a wrong turn. It seems that these two little rodents are trying to pull off a heist.

Unfortunately, I can't pick out any of the individual voices, but perhaps you can. The rest of the site is full of goodies that don't produce characters, such as a radio that plays soft country music and a plastic palm tree that you can use to chuck rocks at cars, but are fun to mess with nonetheless. Check it out over at RangoMovie.com.

We have six clips for you from Cameron Diaz’s reluctant clone movie. In My Sister’s Keeper Abigail Breslin is grown and used for spare parts… extremely cute spare parts. But don’t take my word for it, read the official plot synopsis:

Sara and Brian live an idyllic life with their young son and daughter. But their family is rocked by sudden, heartbreaking news that forces them to make a difficult and unorthodox choice in order to save their baby girl’s life. The parents’ desperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips away at the foundation of their relationship. Their actions ultimately set off a court case that threatens to tear the family apart, while revealing surprising truths that challenge everyone’s perceptions of love and loyalty and give new meaning to the definition of healing.

Check out the clips and watch for it in theaters June 26th.

Clip 1

Clip 2

Clip 3

Clip 4

Clip 5

Clip 6