Abigail Breslin and More Young Actresses Who've Taken on Very Adult Roles

Dec. 3, 2012 — -- intro: Little Miss Sunshine has turned into a serious star. Promotional stills from Abigail Breslin's upcoming movie, "Final Girl," are out, and show the 16-year-old actress dolled up like Marilyn Monroe.

The plot of the movie isn't exactly pretty. According to Deadline, Breslin plays the lead in the thriller about a pack of vicious teenage boys that chooses the wrong girl to be the victim of their final "initiation."

Breslin proved her acting chops as a kid -- she scored an Oscar nomination for playing a wannabe pageant queen in "Little Miss Sunshine" at the tender age of 10.

10-year-old Abigail Breslin in 2007.

"Final Girl" director Tyler Shields, who's famous for provocative photo shoots with the likes of Lindsay Lohan, thinks this role will show she's in it for the long haul.

"I don't even have the words to describe her; she blew me away on set yesterday," Shields told the Huffington Post."She is unlike anyone has ever seen her before. You will see the dangerous and the beautiful side of Abigail Breslin."

She's not the only child actress to take on a part far older than her years:

quicklist: 1title: Chloe Moretztext: In her latest movie, "Hick," 15-year-old Chloe Moretz packed a pistol in her daisy dukes, hitchhiked across the country, flirted with much older men and buddied up with a cocaine fiend.

It wasn't her first eyebrow-raising role. Moretz starred alongside Nicolas Cage in 2010's "Kick-Ass," playing the weapons of mass destruction wielding hit-girl who all but gets her face blown off as she tries to avenge her father's death. Up next for the teen star: headlining a remake of the 1976 bloodbath "Carrie." You know, typical kiddie fare. media: 16271619

quicklist: 2title: Dakota Fanningtext: Jumping from the family-friendly "Charlotte's Web" to "Hounddog" was quite a leap for Dakota Fanning. Fanning's character is raped in the dark, Southern-gothic film. The scene was so jarring to some that it elicited boos at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and launched a petition to have Fanning's mother jailed for letting the then-12-year-old actress be in the movie.

Fanning defended the film and her role, saying of the rape, "It's not really happening. It's a movie, and it's called acting." She's gone on to do a lot more of that, in box office smashes like the "Twilight" series and critically acclaimed fare like "Coraline." media: 16271506

quicklist: 3title: Natalie Portmantext: Long before she won a best actress Oscar, Portman played a gun-toting, cigarette-smoking, hit-man-loving 12-year-old on a mission to become a murderer. Her role in "The Professional" got her noticed in Hollywood, and she went on to mix more romantic flicks ("Garden State") with darker fare ("V for Vendetta"). Going to the dark side (no pun intended; she starred in the "Star Wars" prequels too) paid off when she won an Oscar for 2010's "Black Swan." media: 16271464

quicklist: 4title: Jodie Fostertext: For Jodie Foster, playing a child prostitute in "Taxi Driver" had its plusses -- she won a BAFTA and got nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar, paving the way for an A-list acting career. But the results of her role in the 1976 film weren't all positive. Multiple stalkers said they became obsessed with Foster after seeing the movie. One, John Hinckley, Jr., claimed he tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in an attempt to impress her. media: 16271575

quicklist: 5title: Brooke Shieldstext: Out of the bunch, Brooke Shields may take the cake. At age 12, she got naked to play a prostitute in 1978's "Pretty Baby." Though the film was acclaimed by critics, the debate about whether it constituted child pornography led it to be banned in some parts of the world.

"It's only a role," Shields told People magazine at the time. "I'm not going to grow up and be a prostitute."

Indeed, she didn't, though the model and actress raised eyebrows again in the '80s when she starred in a series of sexy Calvin Klein ads. media: 16271556