By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
November 6, 1987
Actor John Stockwell said working on the mini-series “North and South” was one of the most frustrating experiences in his career. So when he was offered a starring role in the mini-series “Billionaire Boys Club,” he said he was hesitant about committing to another major television project. But after he read the script, he was hooked.
“‘North And South’ was a very unfulfilling job because it was such a big piece to shoot,” Stockwell said in a phone interview from his Los Angeles home. “You’d have to wait around like a week to shoot a couple of days. There’s so much of that hurry up and wait aspect of acting that I don’t like at all. With the new project we worked a lot quicker.
Based on a true story, “Billionaire Boys Club” is about a group of privileged young men whose get-rich-quick scheme leads to murder. It airs on WMAQ-Channel 5 at 8 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.
Stockwell portrays Brad Sedgwick, a member of the club who testifies against the club’s leader.
Earlier this year, Stockwell made his debut as a director with “Undercover,” a film he co-wrote.
Stockwell, who is better known for his acting than his directing or writing, earned money acting while still a student at Harvard University. He made his film debut in Ryan O’Neal’s “So Fine,” and by his sophomore year he was shooting “Losin’ It” with Tom Cruise and Shelley Long. Stockwell teamed with Cruise again in “Top Gun.”
“When I was in school, I kept thinking, `Oh, I want to be a director,’ ” Stockwell said. “So I decided to enroll in grad school at New York University’s film school and give it a shot. I got to direct a film, but I never really finished it. It was one of those deals where there were 20 people in the class and only five could direct, so there was all this politicking to see who would get to direct. I only went one semester because it was a real turnoff, although I guess that prepares you for the real world.”
In the real world, Stockwell had little trouble finding acting jobs. Soon after graduating, he starred in “Christine,” “Radioactive Dreams,” and “My Science Project.”
Born in Galveston, Texas, and raised in New York City, Stockwell said he feels a close tie to the South. “I even hated playing the Northern guy on `North and South,’ ” he said, laughing.
Although he didn’t enjoy working on the mini-series, Stockwell said one good thing did come from it: He wrote a screenplay during his “sitting around and waiting period.”
Cannon Pictures bought the screenplay and asked him to star in it. Based on another real-life incident, Stockwell played an elitist high school student who formed a secret vigilante gang on the side in “Dangerously Close.” The producer of the film saw how curious the young actor was and suggested he write another script and this time serve as a director.
Stockwell wrote “Undercover.” Though he was offered the starring role, Stockwell chose to leave the acting to others and devote himself to directing.
“I think you lose a little objectivity when you try to do it all yourself,” Stockwell said. “Chances are the film could have been as good as I think it is if I had starred in it, but I honestly think David (Neidorf) was perfect for the part. He got all the nuances just so.”
Neidorf, who had roles in “Platoon” and “Hoosiers,” portrays an undercover cop who returns to high school to investigate a narcotics ring.
“The movie was actually a genesis of my own experiences,” he said. “It was very interesting to take the project from beginning to end. There were things I had to worry about that you don’t tend to as an actor. For instance, when I cast actors I had to really take a look to see that they could pass as teenagers. I had always played high school student roles and people had always said I looked young, but I didn’t really notice how much older I looked than them until they were standing right in front of me.”
Stockwell, 26, said he felt very old compared with the real 17-year-olds he hired as extras.
Though he said he wants to direct more films, he doesn’t foresee an immediate need to choose between acting or directing.
“In my case, I don’t have as much name recognition as Emilio Estevez, so I have less to lose in terms of acceptability as an actor or director,” he said. “I’m doing fine as an actor. I’m not a Tom Cruise, but I don’t know if I ever want to (be).”
Stockwell also thinks his directing experience can only enhance his acting. “I have such sympathy for directors and what they have to put up with in their actors that I think I can go in and be a total director’s tool,” he said, laughing. “I think all actors who give directors a hard time should try working on the other end. It’s not an
easy thing to do.”
