''It's not difficult to see talent when it's there in front of you.'' Easy for Pat O'Connor to say. The Irish-born director of Inventing the Abbotts has an enviable knack for spotting actors on their way up. He hired Kenneth Branagh more than a decade ago in A Month in the Country and put 1994's Oscar nominee Helen Mirren in 1984's Cal. With Circle of Friends, he introduced Minnie Driver to American audiences and stamped Chris O'Donnell as a leading man. Keep your eye on Abbotts' five young costars -- since they're beautiful, that should be no problem.
-- Jason Cochran
ACTOR
JENNIFER CONNELLY, 27
PREVIOUSLY
Adventurous good girl in The Rocketeer; floozy in Mulholland Falls
IN INVENTING THE ABBOTTS
Rebellious middle Abbott sister Eleanor. ''I'd seen her when she was about 12 in Once Upon a Time in America,'' the director says. ''Such wonderful eyes. I think she's a great beauty.''
NEXT
September's futuristic noir thriller Dark City, with Rufus Sewell
[ACTOR]
BILLY CRUDUP, 27
[PREVIOUSLY]
Acting school to Broadway to the big-budget Sleepers in just over a year
[IN INVENTING THE ABBOTTS]
Vengeful lothario Jacey Holt. Long Island-born Crudup stunned O'Connor as a Brit in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia. ''I thought he was English,'' O'Connor says. ''And I lived in England for 12 years!''
[NEXT] The title role in the second Steve Prefontaine biopic, this fall's Pre
[ACTOR]
JOANNA GOING, 33
[PREVIOUSLY]
B-grade TV princess (Going to Extremes, Dark Shadows)
[IN INVENTING THE ABBOTTS]
Prim elder Abbott sister Alice. ''While she was reading, I thought, Click! There's Alice,'' O'Connor says. ''And if it doesn't click, they don't get the job.''
[NEXT]
Everything's clicking. Six flicks are in the can.
[ACTOR]
JOAQUIN PHOENIX, 23
[PREVIOUSLY]
Troubled teens in Parenthood and To Die For
[IN INVENTING THE ABBOTTS]
Sensitive younger brother Doug Holt. ''A real original,'' says O'Connor, who cast him after Leonardo DiCaprio passed.
[NEXT]
Oliver Stone's U-Turn, due out in August
[ACTOR]
LIV TYLER, 19
[PREVIOUSLY]
'96 It Girl for Heavy, Stealing Beauty, and That Thing You Do!
[IN INVENTING THE ABBOTTS]
Gorgeous, loyal baby Abbott sister Pamela. O'Connor heard buzz on Tyler but hadn't seen her act, not even ''the famous video where she's wiggling her bottom or whatever.''
[NEXT]
As Hollywood's odds-on ingenue, she's biding her time
You Might Also Like
- Video Review Inventing the Abbots | Ty Burr
- Movie Review INVENTING THE ABBOTTS (1997) | Lisa Schwarzbaum
- Video Commentary empty shell
- Spring Movie Preview APRIL (1997)
- Movie News Parents' Guide to Movies (2000) | Lois Alter Mark
- Summer Movie Body Count (May 05, 2000)
