‘Inventing Anna’ Made a Subtle Callback to Anna Chlumsky’s ‘My Girl’
Long before Anna Chlumsky was Vivian Kent in Inventing Anna, she was Vada Sultenfuss in My Girl. Chlumsky made her big break in acting when she was just 10 years old, as her coming-of-age film turned into a commercial hit. People talked about her famous role for decades — even Inventing Anna, Chlumsky’s new Netflix series with Julia Garner, made a subtle nod to My Girl. Did you catch the connection?
Child star Anna Chlumsky took an acting break for nearly a decade
Chlumsky gained fame with My Girl in 1991 and carried on her career momentum with a sequel in 1994. She then went on to star in Trading Moms and Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain. However, as Chlumsky entered her late teen years, she decided to put acting on hold to attend college. She graduated with a BA in International Studies from the University of Chicago in 2002. Still, her hiatus continued for a few more years.
Speaking to People in February 2022, Chlumsky admitted that her college experience led her to reevaluate her career.
“As a kid, you’re just along for the ride, but it can be extremely damaging. [In college] I had this out-of-body moment where I realized, ‘I don’t have to do this anymore,'” she said.
Eventually, the allure of acting called to Chlumsky once again. She enrolled in Atlantic Acting School and took on theater projects before making her way back to TV. She landed a role as Amy Brookheimer in Veep in 2012, which lasted another seven years.
“I told myself I’d give it a year,” Clumsky said of acting school. “I realized, ‘I’m not giving this a year, I freaking love it. I’m giving this the rest of my life.'”
‘Inventing Anna’ indirectly referencess ‘My Girl’
Inventing Anna, based on the true story of con artist Anna Delvey (Julia Garner), features plenty of references to real people and events. Some of the famous name drops include Khloé Kardashian, John Lennon, Billy McFarland, and more.
In episode 5, “Check Out Time,” Neff (Alexis Floyd) recalls the dinner she attended with Anna, where they were surrounded by rich and famous people. She revealed that “one of the Culkins” was also in attendance. That could have meant Kieran Culkin, who currently stars in HBO’s Succession. Or, it could have been his brother Macaulay Culkin of Home Alone fame, who has a connection to Chlumsky.
Macaulay Culkin starred opposite Chlumsky in My Girl. His character, Thomas, was Vada’s best friend. The movie told the story of their life-changing summer together.
Although it was only a subtle and brief callback to the connection between Chlumsky and Culkin, the moment likely put a smile on many My Girl fans’ faces.
Chlumsky says she’s tired of talking about ‘My Girl’
Like many child stars, Chlumsky still carries her breakout role around with her after all these years. In an interview with Elle, she admitted that she’s constantly asked about My Girl, which has gotten tiresome.
“You ever get sick of talking about that recital you did when you were 10?” she said. “Even though it’s been 30 years, people still want to be like, ‘Oh no, but I still own you,'” she says. “It’s really strange. I used to just think it was lazy. But now I have to think that there’s something more to it.”
After her roles in Veep and Inventing Anna, though, Chlumsky is finally getting recognized for other career highlights.
“People started recognizing me on the street for Veep instead of for some bulls*** I did when I was 10,” she explained. “It was the first time that I ever understood what it felt like to be happy to be asked about your job by a stranger.”
Inventing Anna is now streaming on Netflix.
