>
Tuesday, October 8, 1996
Chris O’Donnell moves past his teenage image in "The
Chamber"
By Lori Swingle
Daily Bruin Contributor
For the past few years, movies based on John Grisham novels have
been the hot ticket for both audiences and actors. Established
actors and actresses (Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts) can find security
in a sure thing, and newcomers (Matthew McConaughey) can become
overnight sensations.
This week’s release of the latest high-profile lawyer drama,
"The Chamber," stars an actor who falls directly in the middle of
the two extremes. Chris O’Donnell has proven himself in less
media-hyped films and currently finds himself on the cusp of
superstardom.
"When I read the script, I thought this role would be great for
me. It was the opportunity to play a more adult role, to be part of
one of these Grisham movies, but I wasn’t being offered the part,"
O’Donnell recalls.
Originally, producers considered bigger names such as Brad Pitt
for the role. However, once director James Foley ("Glengarry Glen
Ross," "Fear") signed onto the job, O’Donnell became the only
choice. Says Foley, "when I came on, I brought Chris. He was who I
wanted, and no one disagreed."
Looking like a classic East Coast college boy in a spotless
white polo shirt and navy slacks (he grew up in Chicago and went to
Boston University), O’Donnell explains how he became considered for
"The Chamber" and how he has steadily continued to be cast
alongside a great number of Hollywood legends. Even though he
appears as untouched as the innocent teens he frequently plays, he
reveals his true age and maturity as he speaks.
O’Donnell admits that he wanted the role, but since he was not
the obvious first choice, his solution was to cast himself.
"I had my agent set up a meeting with Brian (Grazer, producer)
and I said, ‘I know you own the rights to "The Chamber", and I
think I could do a good job with that and I hope you’ll consider me
for the role,’" O’Donnell recalls.
This casual confidence, along with a touch of modesty, has made
O’Donnell a sought-after young talent. His latest role proves that
he has finally made the break into starring roles.
In the film, O’Donnell plays a young lawyer, Adam Hall, who
convinces his boss to let him represent a convicted death row
inmate. Much like the manner in which he acquired the movie role,
O’Donnell’s character takes on a job just slightly out of his
range. The motivation behind Hall’s decision was the knowledge that
the racist murderer he would represent was actually his own
grandfather.
"(Hall) was after answers. He wanted to find out his family
history," O’Donnell says. These unanswered questions had been
destroying his family for years, and the guilt and shame
surrounding a family affiliation in the KKK recently began
affecting his own life as well.
Even though critics have prematurely deemed "The Chamber" as yet
another death row sympathy film, and even worse, another Grisham
formula film, O’Donnell is optimistic about the final product.
"This film is more about the relationship between the
grandfather and the grandson," O’Donnell says. "They got away from
all the legal maneuvering and focused on the two, which I think was
smart."
Adam Hall’s grandfather is Sam Cayhall, a notorious white
supremacist played by Gene Hackman. The opportunity to work
opposite a virtual screen legend did not worry O’Donnell at first;
however, Hackman’s intensity did come as a shock to him.
"Ever since I started in this business, I’ve been lucky enough
to work with some pretty famous actors," he claims. "I’m kind of
getting over the intimidation factor."
Or so he thought …
"The first few days (of filming), Gene comes in and he was so
angry, and saying all these nasty things. I said, ‘Gene, is this
movie close to home for you? It just seems too real," O’Donnell
says.
O’Donnell prides himself on his ability to get along with the
most difficult of actors. Typically playing the neutral role
amongst a variety of emotionally charged characters (ie: Pacino in
"Scent of a Woman" or Jessica Lange in "Blue Sky"), he plays the
straight-as-an-arrow role both on and off screen.
"I’m always seated in the middle of people," he says. "I’m the
United Nations."
O’Donnell recognizes that he has survived working with some of
the most difficult actors in Hollywood. Rather than to get caught
up in the bickering and mudslinging so many actors and directors
do, O’Donnell chooses to spend his time gleaning the more important
things from his superiors.
"I take a lot away from all these people," he confesses. "They
have been my teachers, because I didn’t come into this business a
trained actor."
He has become an afficionado on the preparation techniques of
some highly successful actors.
"Gene must prepare at home, because he just comes into a scene
ready to go," he recalls. "Pacino would be off in his trailer, but
I would hear him barking and working on stuff  then he would
come out on the set and be in his own world."
O’Donnell isn’t taking his success for granted, and he feels
that his fame isn’t a punishment.
"(Fame) has been gradual for me, up until "Batman." That kind of
opened up the floodgate as far as recognizing me," he says. "It’s a
tradeoff between the number of perks you get and the loss of
privacy."
O’Donnell’s next role, in the highly anticipated "Batman and
Robin" just might secure his position as a leading man. Even though
he will regress back to playing an 18-year-old, it is quickly
becoming clear that he can handle the meatier roles being offered
to the more "mature" actors of his generation.
As far as his career and his personal life go, O’Donnell seems
to be on the fast track to career stability.
Faye Dunaway, his "Chamber" co-star, says of O’Donnell’s pending
success, "He’s got a very good character, he doesn’t seem overly
impressed with all the success he’s getting, and he’s a good actor,
too. That’s why he is going to handle it well."
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Chris O’Donnell stars as lawyer Adam Hall in
John Grisham’s "The Chamber."
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Chris O’Donnell (right) plays a young lawyer
representing his grandfather accused of murder, (Gene
Hackman) in "The Chamber."