During the shooting of Definitely, Maybe, co-starring Abigail Breslin, the 11-year-old enjoyed several bonding sessions with Ryan Reynolds, who plays her character's father. “Once we went to this huge toy store in New York and I asked if she wanted anything,” says Reynolds. “She chose this big furry lion, but when I went to pay for it it cost $300! When I told everyone on the set Abigail just looked at me, aghast. ‘Three hundred dollars on a stuffed toy?' she said. ‘What an idiot!'”

This should not be seen as ingratitude; the actress who came to prominence with her role in Little Miss Sunshine was really grateful for her gift. She simply could not believe that it cost so much. “I've never even seen $300!” she yelps. She may be the most sought-after child actor in Hollywood, she may be the fifth-youngest Oscar nominee on record, but she remains a decidedly normal young girl.

In the film her character, Maya, quizzes her father about his romantic escapades before he met her mother. “She asks a lot of questions; I don't think I'm quite like that,” says Breslin. “Although I do look like her! Seriously, though, I liked the character because she was so honest, and because she wanted to put other people's happiness first.”

“Honestly, she's amazing,” says Reynolds. “She has this incredible wisdom and intelligence when she's filming, but then when the scene's done she reverts back to this very normal girl, jabbering away about American Idol and her pets.”

A love for American Idol and small furry animals is quite common among pre-teen girls; a remarkable acting talent is not.

Those unique skills were honed at an early age, with Breslin's screen debut coming when she was just 3. “What an embarrassment that was,” she sighs, flopping on the couch in her New York hotel room. “It was for a Toys 'R' Us commercial, in which I was supposed to be potty trained. There, I said it. But I remember being really pleased because I did get to choose a toy.”

Presumably, she also commanded a salary. Neither her mother nor father had worked in the entertainment business, but they already had some experience of that world by the time their daughter took to the screen. The younger of their two sons, Spencer, now 15, is also an actor, his many projects including The Cat in the Hat (2003) and the lead in the forthcoming comedy Harold.

“My brother has never given me any advice,” says Breslin, “except when I did the movie Signs (2002). He said that when I met someone on set I should call them Mister. ‘So it's Mr Gibson, not Mel Gibson,' he said.” She stops and giggles. “Actually, I didn't take his advice; I don't think I called Mel Gibson anything!”

Her role in Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was Breslin's introduction to Hollywood, and she followed it two years later with Raising Helen and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement - both of which featured Spencer Breslin - and with the dark thriller Keane.

But it was her performance as the energetic beauty pageant hopeful Olive Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine (2006) that catapulted her to stardom. A touching, heartfelt comedy about a dysfunctional family driving across America to enter their daughter in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant, the film was one of the year's surprise indie hits. “I loved making that film,” she says. “But I really can't believe we made it three years ago. It doesn't feel like it. Maybe because of the awards ceremonies, it feels less long ago.”

Chief among those ceremonies were last year's Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. “I really enjoyed going to the Oscars,” she beams. “My whole family came with me, and I got to choose my own dress. It would have been great to have had loads of dresses brought out so I could say ‘Yes', ‘No', ‘Maybe'. That would've been fun! But it really wasn't like that. In fact we all chose the dress unanimously.” A quizzical look runs across her face. “Is that the right word?” Indeed it is; in spite of her age, Breslin commands a fine vocabulary, and says that she enjoys her schoolwork. She loves history, reading and art, but isn't so keen on maths.

Her mother Kim says that when her eldest son, Ryan, now 22, was ready to start school, the state schools in the area where the Breslins lived were not that attractive. Breslin's father had just started his own telecommunications business and could not afford to send his child to private school. “Because of that we tried home-schooling,” says her mother, Kim, who now manages her daughter's career. “It worked out well, so when the other two kids started acting, we kept it up. It's far less disruptive when she works away from home.”

She says that she loves “pretending to be different people”, but is unsure as to whether acting will become her fulltime profession. “I'd like to be a vet,” she says. “At the moment I have an alsatian, a dachshund, a cat and a turtle. I think elephants are my favourites, although they may be a little too big for the vet hospital! Never mind. I just love animals.”

Even stuffed toy lions? “Yes,” she smiles. “Even when they do cost so much.”

Definitely, Maybe opens on February 8

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