Abigail Breslin is mourning her My Sister’s Keeper costar, Evan Ellingson, who died on Sunday at 35.
The 27-year-old actress shared her condolences in an Instagram tribute, alongside a photo of herself, Ellingson and their costar Sofia Vassilieva on the set of the 2009 film.
“Evan Ellingson was a kind, funny and extremely talented human being,” Breslin wrote.
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The two played siblings Anna and Jesse Fitzgerald, who shared a sister named Kate (Vassilieva). Their sister was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia and Anna was born as a “savior” sibling to help with her sister’s treatment. Throughout the film, Anna works with her older brother (Ellingson) and an attorney (Alec Baldwin) to sue their parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) for her medical emancipation.
“Evan was a genuinely thoughtful person who cared so much about turning in the best performance, which he accomplished,” Breslin wrote in her tribute. “Some of his scenes in MSK still give me chills.”
Breslin continued to share memories of their time on set from more than a decade ago. “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,” she wrote.
Breslin continued, “I didn’t keep in touch a lot with him after the film, but he always stayed in my mind as a wonderful and sweet soul, one I am grateful to have crossed paths with.”
“My prayers and condolences are with his family at this difficult time. 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 concluded her caption, “Sending you peace on your journey to the great beyond and who knows… maybe one day, I’ll meet you in Montana. Xx, abster.”
On Sunday morning, Ellingson was found dead in a bedroom at his residence in Fontana, California, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s coroners division. Ellingson’s cause of death has not yet been determined.
In addition to My Sister’s Keeper, Ellingson also played nephew to Kiefer Sutherland‘s Jack Bauer on 24 and the son of David Caruso’s Lt. Horatio Caine on CSI: Miami.