The Corruption of Chris O'Donnell

Ah, yes, Reese Witherspoon, the attractive, talented star of S.F.W. and the upcoming No Fear, with whom O'Donnell engaged in a romance. "We hung out for a little while when Scent of a Woman came out," he recalls. "I did date her. It was weird because it was the first time I had ever really dated an actress. When I was in college, I never had a serious girlfriend because it was too much fun dating different girls. With Reese, it just kind of didn't work out. It was nothing serious, to tell you the truth."

I say, "For those readers who fantasize about dating you, how about coming up with some good reasons not to?" O'Donnell answers, "The main reason not to date me is that I've got a girlfriend. Besides, I'm never in one place, so, if they want to settle down, that's not happening. Also, I think I need to learn some patience with people. But, hey, I'm a pretty good catch, so let's not give too many reasons not to date me." Yet, he adds again, he is taken. Okay, I'll bite. Who is she? "The girl I'm dating now and have been, for about a year and a half, is someone I met before these films started coming out," he says, "She's in Florida and I see her as much as I could see anybody else, because that's the nature of the business I'm in. I think I see her more than most people in a long-distance relationship because of the fact that I'm moving around so much, plus I've got the means to get her a ticket. We're in a real good situation now, real happy."

How does she handle all the fuss made over him? "Over New Year's, it was her birthday and we went out to this bar to get a drink. When we walked in, they carded us. I always get carded. Anyway, we sit down and the guy says, 'First round is on us,' and I think, 'How nice, he knows it's her birthday.' The guy comes back with the drinks and says, to me, 'Do you mind if we get your autograph, too?' And I'm like, 'All right, sure,' but then everyone in the bar was whispering [about me]. But my girlfriend was coot with it, yeah. I mean, we went down for a run on the beach here recently and saw Hasselhoff in action and she was still cool."

Wait. Does he mean David Hasselhoff, that William Shatner for the channel-surfer generation who is arguably the world's most widely seen side of beef? The very one, O'Donnell enthuses, and then proceeds to relate for me his very favorite "Baywatch" episode, fine, now about the details of his Hasselhoff sighting? "There he was, pulling a little kid out of the water and giving him mouth-to-mouth. It was intense. I couldn't believe it. I don't rank on Hasselhoff too much because he's a smart businessman who's making more money than anybody."

I can't help wondering whether O'Donnell freaks out at the thought of perhaps one day having to do a mindless TV series--not for nothing, after all, is "Baywatch" nicknamed "Babewatch." Deadly earnest, O'Donnell says. "I talk about these TV shows and think, 'God, they're so ridiculous,' but when you make money, attain a very comfortable lifestyle and, all of a sudden, the career doesn't work out and the money's not coining in, your self-esteem goes way down. People always say, 'Why would anyone ever want to do mat TV stuff?" but look, it's because people have to pay their bills. The key is, I think, don't let your life get too extravagant when you're young. I worked with a guy on a film who didn't see a dime because he spent everything taking out women, buying clothes. When I said, 'What are you going to do for money?' he said he's confident that he'll always be able to work. If you keep making money, great, but if five of your movies tank in a row, what are you going to do? When I was thinking about doing some movie, I called Al Pacino, who asked, 'Do you need the money?' I said no and he said, 'Don't ever do anything for the money.' So I didn't do it."

Even though he hasn't been lacking for work, has he found time to blow some money on nights out? "Lately I've been antisocial about going to premieres, benefits and parties when my girlfriend isn't out here to go with me, but there have been moments when I think, 'You're not always going to be in the limelight. You should take advantage of it, enjoy yourself.' So one night I was at a Planet Hollywood thing, by myself. Some friends were meeting me later, but I was standing there atone and Cindy Crawford walked in." O'Donnell strikes an awestruck pose like he's just seen God's face. "I was like, 'Hold on, man, look at that.' She's so beautiful and I would never in a million years go up and introduce myself, but she walked right up to me and said, 'Hi Chris, I want to introduce myself. I'm Cindy Crawford.' I'm like, 'Yeah, I know. Howya doin'?' So I sat at a table with Cindy Crawford and Corbin Bernsen and I went downstairs to grab my friends, roommates from college, who I was meeting. They're standing there with beers in their hands, and I said, 'Come on, I've got a table for us upstairs.' We sat down and I go, 'Guys, this is Cindy, this is Corbin, this is so-and-so,' and they could not believe it. And Cindy's like, 'Let's get some margaritas!' and they went, 'YEAH!' So that was a cool night out, yeah."

I wonder how O'Donnell feels about Stephen Dorff's having dissed him to me, in this magazine, about his performance in Scent of a Woman. The ever-quotable Dorff made it clear he thought he, not O'Donnell, should have played the role of Al Pacino's seeing-eye boy. "They screen-tested four guys and he wasn't one of them," O'Donnell remarks. "After your Dorff story came out, I asked [director] Marty Brest, 'Do you remember reading this kid?' He said. 'Yeah, he did a good job, but he just wasn't right.' I only read that Movieline story after [Dorff] wrote me a note saying, like, 'Didn't mean anything by it.' I was like, whatever, buddy." Would he care to comment on Dorff's work? "I know the films he's been in," he says, dryly, "but I've only seen bits of them." Is O'Donnell especially competitive with his peers, who include not only Dorff, but such other comers as Ethan Hawke, Brendan Fraser and Leonardo DiCaprio? "Too competitive," he says, in a tone that leaves little doubt. "There have been times when I had to go audition and there were other people there. I can't stand that. When it comes to the point where I'm trying to get a part, I'm like, 'I don't want to talk to you.'"

As we're waiting on the steps outside The Argyle for the parking valet to bring our cars, O'Donnell checks out the logo on my car keys. "Cool car," he says, "but do you have the sedan?" No, I tell him, the sports coupe and--bless him--the guy actually looks miffed, "They've got me in the sedan, but it's only a rent-a-car." Jeez, he is competitive. Before we pan, I ask whether he thinks his mother will get stressed when she reads the finished article: has he been on his best "interview" behavior? "Well. I haven't been tying to you," he declares, "but I'm not telling you everything. My family and friends see me as a real smartass, a wise-ass. The way people see me in movies, in the stuff they read about me, is kind of an idealistic view." Not if they read between the iines, kiddo. Hollywood may not have totally corrupted Chris O'Donnell, but it's pretty clear he doesn't live on Walton Mountain.

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Stephen Rebello interviewed Halle Berry for the April Movieline.

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