Independent Perspective News

Translation by Carolina Friszman.

He is 27 and he is one of the new Hollywood stars. The brother of River Phoenix, the young actor who died before his time, he co-lead with Mel Gibson the film Signs, and he was nominated to the Oscar for his work in Gladiator.

About his brothers, he says: "We were all pretty imaginative and since we were very young we would play little acting games. But then I would get tired and drop it. The would do it again, and drop it again. When I was 17, I reached the age when you wonder, what am I doing with my life? I was older then and I wanted to find myself, find something I that I liked doing. I remember feeling like something was missing, like a vaccum, I and though that something could be acting. Then I came to New York and started actively going to auditions to find a job."

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- What do you do when you´re not working?

- Nothing interesting, really! Sometimes I get nervous. I´m confident that I´ll go back to work and hope for it to be a good role.

- You did two more movies after Signs.

- Yes, It''s All About Love and Buffalo Soldiers. I haven´t worked for six months now, I´m looking for something.

- What is it that you like most about being an actor?

- As a matter of fact, it´s acting. You always have to wait a lot in the set. That's not the best part of acting. But there are short lapses when one connects with something, I don´t know what it is, and feels sort of vigorized. I get a physical reaction and I feel almost invencible during 30 seconds.

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- Are you happy about your decision of being an actor, or would you rather do something else?

- I'm happy and I feel I still have a lot to do.