Saved by the Dell

BEN CURTIS
AGE 20
WHERE YOU'VE SEEN HIM As Steve, Dell computer's smarmy teen pitchman
EDDIE HASKELL, ANYONE? The Chattanooga, Tenn., native -- who's the son of a preacher man -- says Steve is ''the kid next door that you either love to bring to your house or try to avoid at all costs.''
YOUNG GUN Answering a casting call that asked for 12- to 17-year-olds, Curtis showed up at his audition acting like ''the more cheesy, in-your-face, obnoxious surfer version of me at age 16.''
MATH WHIZ Dell's consumer revenue grew 46 percent in last year's fourth quarter -- right when Steve began popping up on TV spots.
FREEBIES? No free Dell computer yet: ''I used my roommate's computer all year, which is actually a Dell. So, I guess that works.''
NEXT His third year at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and continued studies at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Possibly a fifth Dell spot.

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