While the Reese Witherspoon-produced adaption of Cheryl Strayed's Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar is certainly star-studded (WandaVision's Kathryn Hahn is steering the ship, after all), there are some potential breakout stars to keep your eye on. One such performer is Sarah Pidgeon, who plays the younger version of Hahn's character in the Hulu drama series.
This 26-year-old actress may still be finding her footing on the Hollywood scene, but her role in Tiny Beautiful Things has the potential to catapult her into the spotlight even more. The show follows Clare (Hahn), a once-promising writer who reluctantly agrees to become Sugar, an anonymous advice columnist for the magazine The Rumpus.
There's just one problem: her own life is falling apart around her at a spectacular rate.
While Clare navigates the hostile relationship with her daughter and attempts to pick up the pieces of her broken marriage, she finds herself reminiscing on pivotal moments from her past. That's where Pidgeon steps in to portray the younger version of Clare and bring her inner monologue to life.
So, who is this young actress—and where have you seen her before? Let's take a closer look at Sarah Pidgeon and her career thus far.
She's Not New To The Scene
Not much is currently known about Pidgeon's early life or where she's from other than the fact that she graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018. According to her IMDB, she's been working in the entertainment industry since 2014, appearing in short films and landing one-off roles in shows like One Dollar and Gotham.
While it's taken a few years for her to make a bigger splash, she recently landed her first big break as Leah Rilke in the hit Amazon drama The Wilds.
She's Coming Off A Viral Show
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
If you thought Pidgeon looked a little familiar, chances are you recognize her from The Wilds, a drama about a group of teenage girls who survive a plane crash and must learn how to live on a desert island while they await rescue. The show follows each girl's stories as investigators piece together what happened following the crash.
Pidgeon played Leah Rilke, a loner who's "mature beyond her years, creative and brooding with an overactive mind." While she prefers reading, writing, and observing to socializing, she does develop an unexpected-connection-turned-risqué-relationship with a notable author who's about 20 years her senior. Since her character is more on the neurotic side, Pidgeon said that it was emotionally taxing at times to play her.
"To be honest, I think playing this character has unlocked a new sense of anxiety for me,"she told Collider, adding: "because her heart is racing all the time."
After Amazon released the show in late 2020, it quickly gained a cult following and received praise from critics around the world for its all-female lead cast, elegant cinematography, and engaging storyline. Many people compared it to the infamous J.J. Abrams sci-fi drama Lost, which also featured a stranded-on-a-desert-island narrative. It was quickly picked up for a second season.
Despite The Wilds' initial popularity, the second installment was not as well received. In July 2022, Deadline announced that the show was canceled. Luckily, Pidgeon didn't have to wait too long to find a new gig. The following month, it was announced that she would play Young Clare in Tiny Beautiful Things.
She's Got A Sense Of Humor
Unsurprisingly, her role on the Amazon hit landed Pidgeon some attention. She's already amassed more than 150,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares behind-the-scenes photos and videos of her time on set. She's only shared the trailer of Tiny Beautiful Things so far, but if her The Wilds posts are any indication, she'll likely keep the show's fans entertained with plenty of content in the coming months.
Already, her physical likeness to Hahn has not gone unnoticed. Her post sharing the series trailer was flooded with comments comparing her to the leading actress. "lowkey crazy how much you guys look alike," one user wrote. Strayed—who wrote the book of essays upon which the series is based—seemed to also approve of Pidgeon's casting, commenting: "You are so wonderful, dear Sarah."
The actress is also not afraid to show off her silly side on social media. She recently shared a series of videos that show her feeding a squirrel—both from her hands and from her toes. "Been doing this every morning," she captioned the post. "Squirrel's name is Toes, for obvious reasons."
How To Watch Tiny Beautiful Things
Jessica Brooks/Hulu
Tiny Beautiful Things is set to debut on Hulu on April 7, and the entire first season will be available to stream. So if you're a fan of The Wilds and have been itching to see more of Pidgeon on the screen, don't miss your chance to catch her in this drama series.
READ MORE: 'Tiny Beautiful Things': Meet the Stars Of This Powerful Family Drama
