Dougray Scott: A Man For All Seasons

He breezed into Hollywood on the wings of a fairy tale as Drew Barrymore's Prince Charming in the witty, inventive and madly romantic summer hit Ever After: A Cinderella Story. But 33-year-old Scotsman Dougray Scott did not get to the point of "breezing" without a lot of work.

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Dougray Scott had years of hard grind in British theater and television behind him, and he'd done his share of disappointing movies before he got to the point where everything could look so easy. It was his standout performance as a brutal, psychotic, drug-dealing cop in Twin Town (an inferior Trainspotting rip-off) that led to a screen test for Ever After, and if that seems an unlikely transition, it's just one of many in his career. Scott's resume includes a role on the TV series Highlander, a bit part in the Phoebe Cates vehicle Princess Caraboo, a serious turn as poet Robert Graves in the small British film Regeneration, and a part in Another 9 1/2 Weeks, Mickey Rourke's sequel to 9 1/2 Weeks.

Try telling a self-described "character actor" who's done a range of good, bad and indifferent material that he's now a new heartthrob--or, worse, a sex symbol--and incomprehension sets in. "I never look in the mirror if I can help it, it's em-baaarr-assing," he says in the beguiling Scottish burr he can convert to the Queen's English or convincing American with little effort. "Embarrassed" is one of Scott's most frequently used words--he's embarrassed by adulation, by questions about his personal life, by poor scripts (many of which he is now sent), and by the thought of giving anything less than his best performance.

"I'm not into the fame game," he tells me in a tone that allows for no argument. "I'm an actor, for Christ's sake, not a movie star. And I'm not a romantic lead." Reflecting on his archetypally romantic Prince Henry opposite Barrymore's enchanting Danielle, I can't help but think he could be wrong about this, but there's no sense in telling him that. "Good acting is about truth, about getting under the skin of a character," he declares, "and that's what really interests me."

Because he is "quietly determined" in his career rather than ambitious (he's "uncomfortable with"--i.e., embarrassed over--ambition), Scott intends to play a wide variety of parts across as many genres as possible. So far, he seems to be doing just that. He's proud of his work in the upcoming This Year's Love ("I play an artist who has greasy hair and is spattered in paint. I took classes and learned to paint the pictures myself in the style of Modigliani"). He's also starring in the sequel to 1981's Gregory's Girl, called Gregory's Two Girls, which he made for Scottish director Bill Forsyth, his childhood hero. The role surely to be of greatest interest to Hollywood, though, is the one he'll play opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2. "It's a good script and a very good part, a very important part," Scott says, but he's under oath of secrecy not to divulge any description of his character to anybody.

Scott is aware that in going up for roles like the one he just got in Mission: Impossible 2, he's now competing with a different caliber of actor. But don't expect him to name names. "Life's too short to mind about other people's success. Plus, I'm not competitive, except with myself. I admire good actors. I hope one day I can do the kind of interesting work that Sean Penn does, and that I can be as good as that."

No, Scott doesn't want to move to L.A., though he says he's had a "great time" there. For now he's happy in London, which "has a wonderful cultural heart that you can tap into, and I need that excitement." London is also where Scott's girlfriend, a casting director, and their one-year-old twins live. He refers to his children as "my babies" and adores them without reserve. "I won't accept any work, no matter what, unless they come, too. Money isn't everything, you know, although it's nice to be well paid now--it means less worry and more freedom. But, to me, success is worth nothing without happiness." An angelic smile breaks through his habitual expression of sober concentration as he adds, "They're going to be the world's best-traveled babies soon."

Just suppose that, despite being a character actor, and despite not being a romantic leading man, Scott found himself playing another lead in a commercial Hollywood love story. Who would he like his leading lady to be? "Well, I'd love to work with Drew again," he answers. "She's an aab-solute joy. She's like a vulnerable butterfly, but she's also sexy and feisty and very intelligent, and she has no star complex. But I wouldn't say no to Renee Zellweger or Jennifer Jason Leigh."

As to the pressures his success thus far has imposed, Scott dismisses them: "Pressure? There's no pressure, except that I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that people are asking for me. I get sent dozens of scripts all the time. A lot of them are rubbish, but I have real choices now. And that's really nice."

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Robyn Karney interviewed director Shekhar Kapur for the Dec./Jan. 98 issue of Movieline.