Abigail Breslin is remembering her on-screen brother, Evan Ellingson. The former child actor died at the age of 35 on Sunday.
On Monday, Breslin took to Instagram to remember her late co-star, who played her character Anna Fitzgerald’s brother, Jesse Fitzgerald, in the 2009 film, My Sister’s Keeper.
Calling the former child star a “kind, funny and extremely talented human being,” Breslin shared that he was “a genuinely thoughtful person who cared so much about turning in the best performance.”
She added that some of Ellingson’s scenes in the film “still give me chills.”
As for his on-set behavior, Breslin shared, “He was also silly, funny, a prankster, a lover of Red Bull (I hated the smell of Red Bull 😂) and he was energetic and the life of the party.”
The 27-year-old Little Miss Sunshine star admitted that she and Ellingson didn’t keep in touch after the film, but noted that the actor “always stayed in my mind as a wonderful and sweet soul, one I am grateful to have crossed paths with.”
She shared her prayers and condolences for Ellingson’s family over the loss, before addressing her late co-star directly.
“Evan, I know Heaven will welcome you with open arms. Your time on this earth may have been, devastatingly, short. Your humor, exuberance, kindness and bright light will linger forever,” she wrote. “Sending you peace on your journey to the great beyond and who knows… maybe one day, I’ll meet you in Montana.”
Breslin also warned fans against speculating on Ellingson’s cause of death.
“The details of Evan’s passing have not yet been released. I ask you to kindly not speculate on the details out of respect for his family including his daughter,” she concluded her post.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department PIO told ET that Ellingson, a resident of Fontana, California, was found dead on Nov. 5 at 11:31 a.m. and an autopsy was scheduled for Monday morning.
A cause of death has yet to be determined. The former star’s father, Michael, told TMZ that his son died in a sober-living home.
In addition to his role in My Sister’s Keeper opposite Cameron Diaz, Ellingson also had a recurring role in CSI: Miami as the son of David Caruso’s character, acting in 18 episodes between 2007 and 2010. Before that, Ellingson appeared in 10 episodes of 24 as the nephew of Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer and was a main character in 19 episodes of the sitcom Complete Savages from 2004 to 2005.
Ellingson is survived by his daughter, Brooklynn, who was born in 2008.
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