Oscar winner Alan Arkin hoped that his Little Miss Sunshine co-star Abigail Breslin would fail to win the Best Supporting Actress gong at yesterday's Academy Awards.

The 72-year-old took home the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the film, but he feared that victory for 10-year-old Breslin would ruin her childhood.

Breslin is the fourth youngest actress to be nominated for an Oscar in the awards' 79-year history.

He told Access Hollywood on the red carpet: "I hope she loses frankly. No, I'm serious. I am not joking. What, next year she is going to get the Nobel Prize? It's enough. She has had enough attention.

"I love her and I love her family and I feel enough is enough. She is a kid. She needs to have a childhood."