THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504120028
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
TO MANY OF HIS young, feminine fans, Chris O'Donnell is already the boy wonder.
In two months, he'll take the official title, playing the coveted role of Robin opposite the movies' new Batman, Val Kilmer, in the long-awaited, sure-fire box office bonanza ``Batman Forever.''
In the meantime, he's at the center of ``Circle of Friends,'' the low-budget little Irish movie that has become the hit dating movie of the still-young spring season.
``Everyone says the `Batman' movie is going to change my life,'' the square-jawed and even-featured O'Donnell said, pondering the year ahead. ``Maybe so, but I don't plan to be Robin for the rest of my life. I'm not going to let that happen. My life has already changed a lot since `Scent of a Woman,' but I think I'm keeping my feet on the ground. I went back to school and got my degree. I'm willing to take chances.''
Pat O'Connor, the director of ``Circle of Friends,'' agrees.
``Chris has a lot of guts,'' O'Connor said. ``He is the only American in this movie, and it requires an accent. After reading the script, he said he wanted to do it. Aside from the accent, it's not an easy role. He has to play the school rugby hero - the boy that every girl wants. To bring that off and still be appealing, and not be the slightest bit obnoxious is not easy.''
O'Donnell, 24, said he is offered mostly roles as ``nice'' boys ``but that will change. As I get older, I'll be looking for more variance.''
The youngest of seven children born and raised in a small town outside Chicago, O'Donnell first won critical acclaim playing Jessica Lange's rebellious teen son in ``Men Don't Leave.'' He next had a cameo as Mary Stuart Masterson's ill-fated brother in the hit ``Fried Green Tomatoes,'' then starred in ``School Ties.''
``Scent of a Woman,'' though, made him a bona fide star. He portrayed the youngster whom Al Pacino teaches about life on an adventurous weekend. O'Donnell won a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor and held his own against Pacino.
After ``Scent of a Woman,'' he returned to Boston College to complete his major in marketing.
He learned fencing and riding to play D'Artagnan in ``The Three Musketeers'' with Kiefer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen. ``That was a swell movie to make,'' he said. ``There were no star perks. No egos.''
``Circle of Friends,'' though, would seem to be an unusual choice. It was made far outside the Hollywood mill, with a small budget and a cast of fairly unknown Irish and British actors.
``I wanted to do it for two reasons,'' he said. ``First, I'd get to try an accent and, secondly, I'd get to go to Ireland. My family is of Irish and German stock.
``You don't hear much about Ireland having great beaches or skiing. It's the only country where tourists want to go simply because of the people. The Irish people are the attraction.''
Based on the popular Irish novel by Maeve Binchy, ``Circle of Friends'' is set in 1957 and concerns three small-town girls who go to college in Dublin - and grow up. All three are attracted to Jack Foley, the charming rugby star. He unexpectedly falls for Benny, the plainest of the three girls. She is played by newcomer Minnie Driver, who is getting rave reviews.
O'Donnell claims that it was the character of Benny, not his own role as Jack, that initially drew him to the film.
``She is such an amazing, really unusual character. She is honest, and she knows exactly who she is. She's much more mature than Jack, who wants to be the golden boy everyone expects him to be. He wants to do what's expected of him. She teaches him that he doesn't have to be just that.
``When you get older, you realize looks are not so important,'' he said. ``I think it's entirely understandable that Jack goes for Benny. She's by far the more honest and sensible of the girls.''
As he sat for the interview, he still had a week left of ``Batman Forever'' filming.
``Robin is much tougher in this version,'' O'Donnell said. ``He's more of a challenge to Batman. He comes from a circus and had something of a gypsy style of life before he joined Bruce Wayne to fight against crime. I had to learn trapeze work for the part.''
O'Donnell refused to wear tights for the part. Laughingly, he said, ``Tights would be pretty hard to step into.''
The new Robin explains that ``Batman Forever'' will be a ``much lighter and more humorous film than the first two Batman movies. They were pretty dark, dreary things. This one is going to have a lot of humor. We have both Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as villains.''
To make it a grand-slam Chris O'Donnell movie year, he has a third movie ready for release. It's ``Mad Love,'' co-starring Drew Barrymore. ``We play these teens who are in our own dream world. We hit the road, run away from home. I'm not such a nice boy in that one.''
In spite of the ``Batman Forever'' hit on the horizon and the surprise success of ``Circle of Friends,'' O'Donnell claims that he will manage to ``stay a real person. All I have to do is go back to my family. They can put me in my place - quick.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Chris O'Donnell
by CNB