When you mention the Jacksons to your parents, they probably conjure up
images of moonwalking one-gloved wonders. But to the under-20 crowd, the
only Jacksons are the brothers Jonathan and Richard Lee. They've got girls
sighing and Hollywood power agents stammering to sign up the dasterdly
handsome duo. They've even got their own rock band, Scarlet Road. But it
was a family trip to Universal Studios that got the boys thinking about life
in the limelight, and the rest is history. JJ and RJ, who live with their
parents in Washington and L.A. (as all good stars should), are nice, casual -
and did we mention nice? TC (Teen Celebrity) recently caught up with the
Jackson2 on the set of Jonathan's new TV movie, Purple Haze (co-starring
Popular's Carly Pope) in Toronto. Richard and Mom were hanging with JJ on
the set, which gives us the feeling that these boys don't trash hotel rooms
(as all bad stars should).
Famous Words By Richard Lee Jackson
ON WHAT COMPETITION WITH JONATHAN WAS LIKE BEFORE HOLLYWOOD CAME CALLING:
"One time we were playing roller hockey and I scored a goal on him - this is
when we was really little. He got majorly upset, and he clocked me over the
head with his hockey stick. I had to get stitches. So, I think under my hair
somewhere there's probably a scar - but no visible scars."
ON FAMILY BLISS:
"For a long time, we didn't get along at all and we got physical about it.
Finally our parents said, 'Pretend you like each other.' It worked. If we're
not married in a few years like we hope, we're going to get a place together."
ON HIS SHOWBIZ CALLING:
"We were visiting Universal Studios and I was picked out of the audience to
sit in the car from Back To The Future. It just hit me: I thought acting
could be something I might be good at."
ON AUDITIONS:
"Commercial auditions are pretty crazy, they're just bizarre. You sit there
without knowing what the heck is going on, then you see a Snickers bar
floating by, and the producers want you to react. And you're like, 'React?
How do you react to a floating Snickers bar? Am I scared of the bar?'"
ON BEING A MODEST HOT COMMODITY:
"A lot of people are asking for meetings, like DreamWorks [as in Spielberg]
and Spelling [as in Aaron "Who Wants A TV Show?" Spelling]. You know, I'm not
exactly Leonardo DiCaprio, but I'm getting a lot more offers than I used to.
Until I sign on the dotted line, I'm not going to blab."
ON THE NOT-SO-RABID FANS OF HIS AND JONATHAN'S BAND, SCARLET ROAD:
"Friends are our groupies. The kind of friends who would, if we asked them
to, hold up lighters at one of our concerts."
ON WHO HE'D WANT TO JOIN HIM IF HE WERE EVER CHOSEN FOR AN MTV REAL WORLD
CELEBRITY SPECIAL:
"Katie Holmes. Some cool women. I'd like my brother to go. My friend Ben
Gould from Saved By the Bell. Maybe Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan."
RICHARD LEE JACKSON
~ Born May 29, 1979
~ Alum of Saved By The Bell: The New Class
~ Caught the eyes of Hollywood bigwigs on Showtime's Prisoner Of Zenda, Inc.
~ Made Ally McBeal swoon (and play an imaginary game of baseball) on the show
last season as a "younger guy"
~ Close to signing on to a bunch of cool projects, including a possible
series for MTV.
~ Along with his bro, wrote the theme song for a new indie film, True Rights
- in which both star, of course.
~ Is a good boy: You see so much bad behavior - performers who think it's OK
to be rude to crew members, writers and producers who mistreat people who
work for them."
~ Really wants to direct - with his sib, natch: "We've been making movies and
videos since we were kids. Our goal is to direct a Jackson brothers film
within five years.
Famous Words By Jonathan Jackson
ON THE RUMOR THAT HE'S BEEN TAPPED TO PLAY ANAKIN SKYWALKER IN THE NEXT STAR
WARS MOVIE:
"I don't know. We're very interested in seeing if that's a possibility.
I've been working up here in Toronto, so I, uh, haven't had a chance to meet
with anybody in L.A., but if I do that would be great. I would love to."
ON WHETHER HE'S EXPECTING AN OSCAR NOD FOR HIS ROLE IN THE DEEP END OF THE
OCEAN:
"No, I don't think so. I mean, some TV Guide dude said something about it
before the movie ever came out. I think Michelle Pfeiffer deserves to be
nominated, though."
ON HIS DELINQUENT HOLLYWOOD PAST:
"I remember when I went to The Fugitive premiere and I got to meet Harrison
Ford. I think I saw Christian Slater there, which was pretty cool. We didn't
have official tickets, so we kind of snuck in, actually."
AND SPEAKING OF CHRISTIAN SLATER�.ON HIS FAVORITE ACTOR:
I wrote a fan letter to Christian Slater when I was nine years old, before I
got into acting. I heard he liked Star Wars, so I sent him some Star Wars
stuff, and included a letter."
ON BEING NAMED ONE OF PEOPLE'S 5O MOST BEAUTIFUL:
"I think it's funny. I could probably point out 50 more beautiful people in
one day, but it's very cool of them and I appreciate it. It was a nice kick."
ON LUCKY, HIS GENERAL HOSPITAL CHARACTER:
"I played him over the course of five and a half years. I liked Lucky's
passion for the people he loved and his intensity towards life."
ON WHY HE'S WORRIED ABOUT BECOMING TOO FAMOUS:
"Not having the same kind of privacy is difficult. I don't really look
forward to that part. Once you succeed - I have a long way to get where I
want to get - you can't fall on your face without being noticed. You have a
lot of people judging you, good and bad, which is a very scary thing."
ON COMPETING WITH HIS BROTHER FOR ACTING ROLES:
"Occasionally, there's a script that we both go for, but it doesn't usually
cause any real complications. It's like, whoever gets it, we know he was
supposed to get it, and we support each other with that."
JONATHAN JACKSON
~ Born May 11, 1982
~ Won two (count 'em Two!) Emmys for his portrayal of Lucky on General
Hospital, on which he debuted at the tender age of 11.
~ Made two (count 'em Two!) guest appearances on Boy Meets World.
~ Got rave reviews and some Oscar buzz for his performance as Michelle Pfieffer's son in The Deep End of The Ocean (just the mention of it makes him
laugh nervously)
~ Recently beat out Leonardo DiSomething-Or-Other in a number of online polls voting on who should take over the coveted Anakin Skywalker role in the next
Star Wars prequel. If he snags it, he'll need to do some research: "I've
never seen the first three movies. I tried to watch two of them on late-night
TV, but I fell asleep."
~ Is wary of actresses with affection for him: "There must be actresses out
there with solid values, but with most of them - and I say this from
experience - it's like they're acting 24-7."
~ Is a devoted follower of U2's Bono: "Whatever Bono wears next, I'll
probably buy."
