No Slacker: Devon Sawa

February 5, 2002 by Dennis King of Teen Hollywood

Devon Sawa is hardly a slacker, by any definition.

The handsome, soft-spoken 23-year-old actor has already accrued a worthy resume of film credits in the dozen years that he's been in the movie business. And to hear him talk over the telephone during a recent promotional stop in Dallas for his new film "Slackers," Sawa doesn't have a lazy bone in his body.

"I love the work," he said enthusiastically, "and I learn something new on every project I do."

On "Slackers," Sawa, who plays a college scam artist named Dave, said he learned a lot about stylish film making from photographer-turned-director Dewey Nicks. "It was a lot of fun to watch him work, and he came up with some really clever fantasy scenes that gave the movie a different dimension."

And Sawa said he also learned from Nicks and the production crew about some of the risk hijinks that he missed out on by not going to college.

"They used to sit around and tell stories about all the goofs and pranks and stuff that they pulled off in their college days," the actor said. "And a lot of them they used in the movie. I didn't go to college because I've been acting since I was 11, so I missed out on that. But I figure I'm a pretty well-behaved guy considering some of the stuff they got away with."

Sawa said he was attracted to the "Slackers" role because he wanted to do something that had some attitude and pushed the boundaries a little.

"So many teen movies, it seems to me, are just little valentine love stories. Just so fluffy. This one is really over-the-top, and I couldn't believe what we managed to get away with."

Since making his acting debut in a kindergarten play, the Vancouver, B.C., native said he's had his heart set on a career in TV and movies. Early on, he landed a role in the Canadian TV series "Kid Zone," and went on to star in another Canadian show called "The Odyssey."

That was experience enough to earn him a small but attention-getting role in the 1995 live-action Hollywood film "Casper" (as the ghost's real-boy incarnation), which lead to bigger parts in "Little Giants" and "Now and Then."

Since then, he's appeared in films such as "The Boy's Club," "Night of the Twisters" (on TV), "SLC Punk!", "Idle Hands" and "Final Destination."

His most recent role was opposite Bill Pullman and Gabrielle Anwar in the independent psychological thriller "The Guilty," and he's set to star in an upcoming adventure film called "The Extremists," which is about a band of extreme-sports enthusiasts who kayak, ski, skydive and run up against a marauding band of terrorists.

"I loved doing that," Sawa said. "I got to ski and ocean kayak, and at one point they had me dangling off a cliff with a little climbing rope. It was really rigorous, but I had a great time. I want to do more action stuff in the future."

Hardly sounds like the attitude of a slacker.

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