Spencer Breslin Biography

Engaging, chubby-faced and precocious, actor Spencer Breslin has had nothing but fun making movies for a living. Almost from the get-go, Breslin has starred in the kinds of blockbuster movies that most kids his age rush to theaters to go see. Whether playing an eight year-old who magically appears to remind his older self of his one-time dreams or a incessant rule-breaker who learns how to truly have fun from a six-foot tall cat, Breslin couldn’t ask for a better start to a career that promises to get better the older he gets.

Born on May 18, 1992 in New York City, Breslin started acting at an early age—three to be exact. He was discovered at a playground by a talent agent, who asked his mother’s permission for him to star in a commercial. His mom, Kim Breslin, who later became his personal manager, immediately agreed, and Breslin began appearing in television ads for McDonald’s and Life cereal. A mere two years later, at age 5, Breslin made his first appearance on TV as a series regular in “Soul Man” (ABC, 1996-1998). Breslin played Fred Weber, the son of widower Mike Weber (Dan Aykroyd), an unconventional reverend forced to deal with raising four children on his own. Breslin was replaced after the first season by Michael Finiguerra, but the show was unceremoniously canceled after season two. Breslin moved on to appear in “Stephen King’s Storm of the Century” (ABC, 1999), a three-part miniseries about a sleepy Maine town cut off from the world because of a frightening storm and forced to contend with a murderous stranger for the sake of their children.

After a small role as the generic Little Boy in the blockbuster hit, “Meet the Parents” (2000), Breslin made the jump into film for real with a starring role opposite superstar Bruce Willis in “Disney’s The Kid” (2000). Breslin played Rusty Duritz, the eight year-old version of Russ Durtiz (Willis). Both are unhappy with life: Though successful, Russ is a failure in his personal life; and Rusty is awkward and the victim of school bullies. The two become fast friends and together they learn to deal with life’s little wrinkles. Breslin’s next appearance was another high-profile role in “The Santa Clause 2” (2002), starring Tim Allen and Elizabeth Mitchell. As Curtis, Breslin played Santa’s assistant who discovers a new clause in the Santa contract: there must be a Mrs. Clause. The sequel to the unexpectedly successful “The Santa Clause” (1994) proved to be just as popular as its predecessor, taking in over $167 million worldwide.

Breslin returned to the small screen with parts in several movies-of-the-week, including “Moms on Strike” (ABC, 2002), in which a frustrated mom (Faith Ford) goes on strike against her family after being taken for granted once too often. Next, Breslin played Stevie in “You Wish!” (The Disney Channel, 2003), the younger brother of Alex (A.J. Trauth), who finds a magic coin and is granted a wish. Alex wishes that his pesky brother Stevie would disappear, and to his surprise he does! After realizing he doesn’t like being an only child, Alex goes on a desperate search to find his brother.

The young actor’s biggest role was yet to come. Breslin starred in the Thanksgiving blockbuster, “The Cat in the Hat” (2003), playing Conrad, the prankster-pulling older brother of Sally (Dakota Fanning). The two siblings are left alone by the mom (Kelly Preston) and are bored silly until a six-foot tall Cat in the Hat (Mike Myers in a ton of makeup) pops up to show the two how to really have fun. He followed with a role in the 2004 comedy “Raising Helen” as Henry, one of the three siblings who fall into the care of their carefree, career-oriented aunt (Kate Hudson) after their parents die. Breslin’s younger sister Abigail also played his sister in the film.

Breslin made the jump to television with a regular role on “Center of the Universe” (CBS, 2004), a sitcom starring John Goodman as the owner of a security company and a happily married man whose loopy parents (Ed Asner and Olympia Dukakis) come over unannounced to shake things up. Breslin didn’t get to enjoy television for very long—the show was savaged by critics for being utterly unfunny, forcing the network to axe the series before any more damage was done. Returning to features, the young actor had a brief appearance in “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004), then played the son of a workaholic deputy D.A. (Tim Allen) whose bizarre transformation into the body of the family’s new Bearded Collie make him want to be a better dad in “The Shaggy Dog” (2006). Breslin reunited with Allen for two more features, playing a member of a new generation of superheroes being trained by the old in “Zoom” (2006) and reviving head elf Curtis in “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” (2006).