Somebody has to make the actor’s life look hard, but for now leave the bad attitude to a pouting Brad Pitt or an indignant Julia Roberts.
The happy brat pack of adolescents who helped Martin Lawrence make “Rebound” are too busy having a blast to throw any tantrums or sneer at paparazzi. In fact, on this lazy afternoon inside ESPN Zone’s game haven in Denver, the boyish movie stars jostle to get closer to the camera, hoping the photographer’s lens will be on them when they finally make a shot.
Littleton’s own Steven Parker takes his turn, and is ecstatic when his basketballs fall through the hoop with impressive regularity. You see, Parker is used to playing the tall, klutzy nerd, and he enjoys it; after all, it got him a prize role in the “Rebound” comedy and a host of TV series appearances. But when you’re 16 and in a heated shooting contest with a bunch of 13- and 14-year-olds, bragging rights are the only currency that matters.
“In the movie, I’m the worst player that ever existed,” says a laughing Parker, touring with his fellow young actors to publicize “Rebound.”
“But that’s for real too. From my bad defense to my missed layups – that’s not acting. Whenever they cut to a shot getting made – that’s not me. My agent called and said they needed a big, tall, nerdy kid who can’t play basketball. I said, ‘I’m your man.”‘
Well, OK, almost your man.
Though “Rebound” borrows heavily from other sports movies, the parts of the movie that work reflect an easy rapport among the kids and comedian Lawrence, who takes the junior high coaching assignment as atonement for big-league temper tantrums. The loose joy of horsing around that helps “Rebound” succeed as a family movie is well in evidence everywhere the child actors go to support the movie.
They’re serious about getting acting roles, but acting serious is not their strength.
Flicking ice and soda drops at each other across a table, it’s time for smooth star Oren Williams to demand some credit. The 14-year-old plays Keith in the movie, the only hotshot hoopster on the Mount Vernon Smelters. He softens his off-screen bragging with a smile, but he would like people to know he didn’t need a stunt double as much as these other wise guys.
“I never needed retakes, because I always made my shots,” he says with a grin, and is immediately drowned out by razzing from the boys who play “Fuzzy” (Logan McElroy), “One-Love” (Eddy Martin) and “Goggles” (Gus Hoffman).
Parker splits his time between Colorado and Los Angeles these days, in heavy demand for appearances on shows like “ER” and “Malcolm in the Middle.” He has no qualms playing the math geek, as long as the parts keep coming. “It’s one of the most fun roles to play,” he said. “You get paid to be awkward and weird.”
As fodder for appearances with a stand-up comedy troupe in Los Angeles, Parker collects road stories from the movie tour. He relates what he calls a telling moment from the “Rebound” gigs, when the cast stopped by a TV station for interviews. A girl saw Martin, the handsome “One-Love,” and came over to sign his shirt. She left her phone number as well.
“All these other girls came over to sign Eddy’s shirt,” Parker said. “Most of them were under the age of 10. In all, Eddy got 15 phone numbers. From then on, all the cast members had a contest who could get the most names.
“I had negative two.”
Staff writer Michael Booth can be reached at 303-820-1686 or mbooth@denverpost.com.
