We've heard you are the most mature member of the Dawson's Creek company. Is that true?
It's hard to judge yourself--whether you're immature or not. I do think I have a good head on my shoulders. I can at least judge what acting roles are right for me and which will keep me moving in a forward direction. Some young actors kinda get pigeon-holed into that "high school guy" thing, but I want to play every type--psycho, bad boy, matinee idol, loser, good guy, you name it. An actor is only as good as his range.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Vancouver, moved to Los Angeles and when my parents split up, gradually moved back up the West Coast. I was able to pack a lot of experience into my 20 years. My parents getting divorced was obviously a very traumatic experience. And then after, it was just me, my sister and my mother, and we went at it alone. I went from being a very well-off little kid to having a couple rough years, to rebuilding--my mother did that. She and I are very close.
What was your schooling like?
Abbreviated and herky-jerky. I went to Kitsilano High School in Vancouver.
Was your high school anything like the one on Dawson's Creek?
All high schools are the same to a certain extent. You have kids dividing off into different cliques and I was a semi-popular kid. I wasn't like a popular jock, but just sort of the boy next door type. I was a real regular kid. The area I'm from is very liberal, so if I was to point out anything different about our school, we got to choose our classes on our own and pickup more offbeat subjects to balance out the math and the english and the science. And we had more avant-garde literature choices in our English classes. We had books that are banned in some schools in the States. But our teachers realized that we could learn from those "alternative" kinds of books. I love all the old beatnik stuff like Kerouac and the poetry of Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsberg.
Was there sex education in your school?
Ha, there is something very different up there. That's why it was so surprising when reporters at the press conference were like, "Oh, sex! That's terrible!" It's partially my mother being Irish. Europeans laugh at American attitudes towards sex. And then Kitsilano, it's an ex-hippie place, very liberal. I believe open communication is the best way to deal with sex. If parents believe their children are too young to enter into the sexual ball-game, they should talk to them.
Any particular career plans?
I would love to do a guest appearance on The Xfiles. Its filmed right there in Vancouver, I've wanted to be on it for five years. I've tried, I've asked, but I think the effort was doomed.