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The queen of last year's Sundance festival was the New York-based actress Parker Posey, who was in at least three films at the time. This year, Ms. Posey is in one, a poorly received comedy, The Misadventures of Margaret. To his amazement, New York-based actor Sam Rockwell has been called this year's Parker Posey.

The cheerful and friendly 29-year-old actor, who is also based in New York, is in three films here -- Jerry and Tom, a Quentin Tarantino-like violent comedy about some hit men, directed by the actor Saul Rubinek; a screwball comedy, Safe Men, directed by John Hamburg, and a drama, Lawn Dogs, directed by John Duigan.

Rockwell said that he had been startled by the comparison to Ms. Posey-- "Well, oh yeah, I guess that's flattering" -- but that it was purely accidental that he had three films at Sundance.

"A fluke," he said, eating breakfast at a hotel here hours after his arrival. "I lucked out. Actually, I made Lawn Dogs about three years ago."

He's hardly complaining. Having struggled in New York for several years -- for a while he was a bus boy -- Rockwell is now in a position to pick and choose his roles in independent films.

Hollywood studios have expressed interest in Rockwell, but he has not been selected for any choice roles. He flew to the festival during a brief break in the off-Broadway play Goose-Pimples, a dark comedy in which he is appearing.

He said his career breakthrough took place last year at Sundance he co-starred with John Turturro in the comedy Box of Moonlight, directed by Tom DiCillo. The film was not a box-office success, but Rockwell's portrait of a whimsical Peter Pan figure led to many offers from directors.

"That film was definitely a turning point, and I was sort of put on some independent film map after 10 years in New York," he said. Of his roles, Rockwell said, "I'm getting kind of the goofball misfit right now."

Rockwell's parents, now divorced, were aspiring actors. He spent most of his childhood with his father, a printer and union organizer, in the San Francisco area. While a senior in high school, Rockwell appeared in an independent film and shortly after that moved to New York to act.

Rockwell said that for a while, like many actors in New York, he tried to be ethnic.

"I was obsessed with DeNiro," he said. "I tried to emulate him. I thought I was Italian at one point. Yeah, I know, it's a stretch. Actually, I have a pretty muddish look. I can go Polish, I can go half-Jewish and half-Irish."

His television roles have included a policeman as well as a killer on "Law and Order" and a crack addict on "NYPD Blue." A few years ago, he tried living in Los Angeles but returned to New York.

"Being single there and not working every day is hard in L.A., much harder than New York, where you can walk the s treets and get on a subway and do something," he said. "Being an unemployed actor in L.A. is very strange. It can mess your mind."

Being unemployed is not in the cards now. He's no longer interested in the low-low-budget independent films -- "You know, bring your own coffee" -- and now looks for good scripts and even an amenity or two.

"When I did Lawn Dogs and Jerry and Tom, I had a trailer and a refrigerator and a stereo and I got a decent paycheck, and I thought, 'I'm happy, what more do I want?' " he said. "I can make a living now, which is great."

Rockwell said that at Sundance he hoped to go to a party or two. "I'm hoping to meet girls when I'm here," he said.

That shouldn't be a problem.