News

25 Years Later: 'Veep' Star Anna Chlumsky Still Practices Exercises Learned on 'My Girl'

By Stacy Lambe
This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

When VEEP
premiered in 2012, most people were surprised to see former child star, Anna
Chlumsky, cursing up a storm on HBO. Three seasons later, the 34-year-old
actress is now a two-time Emmy nominee for her role as Amy Brookheimer, the
determined and sometimes ruthless Chief of Staff to Vice President Selina
Meyer.

Ahead of the show’s fourth season premiere on Sunday, April
12, ETonline looks back on Chlumsky’s breakout role as Vada Sultenfuss in My Girl.

NEWS: Watch an Exclusive Montage of Deleted Selina Meyer One-Liners from 'VEEP'

Only 10 years old at the time of filming, the young actress
still had a lot to learn about the craft that would later make her a star.
Luckily, Hollywood vets Jamie Lee Curtis and Dan Aykroyd not only played her
parents, but also mentored her on set.

“They taught me little exercises,” the young star told ET in
1990 during a break from filming. Two of those acting exercises were “silent scream”
and “tiny face” -- techniques she revealed that she still practices to this
day.

“Oh yeah! I still do the ‘silent scream’ and ‘tiny face,’”
Chlumsky told ETonline
25 years later. “That’s so funny that I spoke about it then because yeah,
[Jamie] did teach us that.”

“You know, it gets energy in your face when you’re kind of
losing energy,” she continued, explaining the benefit of the exercise. “And if
it’s cold outside, it makes you warm. Yeah, I definitely do. I still use that.”

NEWS: Anna Chlumsky on Broadway Debut, Acting Alongside Kittens & 'VEEP'

Those exercises have not only served her well on the set of VEEP, where she needs her energy to keep
up with the show’s quick wit and precise comedic timing, but also on stage.

This year, Chlumsky made her Broadway debut in You Can’t Take It with You opposite
James Earl Jones. “There’s just nothing like it,” she said of stepping onto the
New York stage. “It’s magic. And it feels really right, which is wonderful.”

Following VEEP’s
premiere, the 34-year-old actress will return to Broadway in the comedy, Living on Love, which opens at the Longacre
Theatre in New York City on April 20.

VEEP returns to HBO for season four on Sunday, April 12 at 10:30 p.m.Tickets now available for Living on Love.