Abigail Breslin
Little Miss Sunshine

At the age of 10, Abigail Breslin is already familiar with the hazards of fame. When you're one of Hollywood's go-to moppets, you quickly get used to having your hair mussed by the masses. ''Sometimes people are like, 'Can I touch you?''' Breslin says with a hint of weariness. ''This one girl at a shoe store was like, 'Can I pick you up?' I was like, 'I don't think so.''' But as she proved in last summer's indie sleeper Little Miss Sunshine, Breslin (previously best known for playing Mel Gibson's tinfoil-hat-wearing daughter in Signs) is more than just some cherubic big-screen squeeze toy — the girl has serious acting chops. As pudgy, bespectacled beauty-pageant contestant Olive Hoover, Breslin gave this dark dysfunctional-family comedy its core of genuine sunshine, turning in a performance that's refreshingly free of cloying kiddie clichés. Still, as gamely as she faced the challenges of crying in a pivotal scene with Alan Arkin and doing a surprisingly un-G-rated dance to the tune of ''Super Freak,'' Breslin insists she has nothing on her Sunshine character: ''I'm not as brave as Olive. I get nervous singing at my church Christmas party.'' She sure fooled us. — Josh Rottenberg