ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 9, 1996 TAG: 9602090099
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO 'BROKEN ARROW'S'
SOURCE: IAN SPELLING NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
A few years back, Samantha Mathis was supposed to be Hollywood's ``next big thing.''
The hype machine went into overdrive following the actress' sympathetic and sexy performance in ``Pump Up the Volume'' (1990). Suddenly Mathis was everywhere - chatting on the TV talk-show circuit and splashed across the pages of seemingly every magazine.
Though she has delivered solid performances in film after film since then - including Nora Ephron's ``This Is My Life'' (1992), ``Little Women'' (1994) and ``How to Make an American Quilt'' (1995) - Mathis still isn't the superstar some predicted she'd be.
``You know what? That's OK,'' the 25-year-old actress says. ``So much of it is out of your control.
``Of course, one wants to have great success, but I think I've got plenty of time to hit it bigger, if that's the way my career is supposed to go. It's gone the way it has so far, and I'm proud of the work I've done.
``I'm young and I have, hopefully, a lot of years ahead of me.''
But don't get the idea that she's slowing down. In fact, she's about to put some muscle into her effort to climb higher on the Hollywood food chain.
In John Woo's much-anticipated ``Broken Arrow,'' which opens today at Salem Valley 8 and Valley View Mall 6, Mathis shares the screen with two powerful actors: John Travolta and Christian Slater.
Travolta plays a psychotic pilot threatening to detonate a nuclear weapon he's stolen; Slater is his former partner, who's out to stop him. Mathis portrays Terry Carmichael, a tough, resourceful Utah park ranger who becomes caught up in Slater's character's attempt to bring Travolta's to justice.
``This one not only gave me the opportunity to work with people like John Travolta, John Woo and Christian, but it's the most commercially oriented film I've done,'' the friendly, petite actress says as she draws on a cigarette during a conversation at a Los Angeles hotel. ``That was certainly a factor.''
Another factor was the action work. The film's script called for Mathis to perform many of her own stunts, including a harrowing chase-and-fight sequence atop a moving train. She also got to go punch for punch and kick for kick with Travolta and his cronies.
Mathis admits she wasn't sure she was up to the role's physical challenges.
``They had tremendous faith in me that I could do it, and I surprised myself about how much I could do and how much I ended up WANTING to do,'' she says. ``I never really thought they'd put me in jeopardy, but some of that stuff was scary.
``When I finally did some of it, especially the train scenes, it was exhilarating. It looks really good on screen, and it gives the film more authenticity that it's me, John and Christian doing a lot of those stunts ourselves.''
The actress says she enjoyed working with Travolta, whom she deems ``sweet and gracious.''
Slater is an old friend and former flame. The two dated while filming ``Pump Up the Volume'' and later worked together in the animated film ``FernGully'' (1992) and on an upcoming Showtime short that Slater directed.
``Christian's kindhearted, down-to-earth, a simple-pleasures guy,'' Mathis says, smiling. ``He's also very funny and a bit of a goofball.
``It was wonderful to come back together and be on the run again, only this time with guns. We'd look at each other and just giggle.''
Mathis believes moviegoers will have at least as much fun watching ``Arrow'' as she had making it.
``We made a very exciting movie,'' she says enthusiastically.
Mathis' life has been a pretty exciting ride as well. Born in Manhattan, she moved to Los Angeles with her actress mother, Bibi Besch, when she was 6, following her parents' divorce.
She spent much of her youth accompanying her mother to movie and TV sets, theaters and acting classes. It became such a way of life that Mathis couldn't envision doing anything but acting.
``My mom didn't encourage me to do this,'' she says. ``In fact, she discouraged me when I announced at age 12 that I wanted to do this.
``She prayed I'd get over it and then made me jump through hoops to prove myself before she consented to letting me give it a shot. Since then, she's been incredibly supportive, and it's wonderful to be able to share the process with her.''
At the moment, Mathis is involved in a new romantic relationship that she doesn't want to discuss. When she speaks about a past relationship - with River Phoenix, whom she was dating at the time of his drug-related death - it is with obvious sadness. Phoenix, she says, was unable to handle the fame that was thrust upon him. As a result, he was sucked into Hollywood's dark side.
Now she fears that few people have learned anything from Phoenix's mistakes. ``His family and circle of friends learned something,'' she says quietly. ``I think, generally, that young people and other young people in this business didn't learn anything.''
LENGTH: Medium: 91 linesby CNB