Hiatus Interruptus

A Murderous Pace
Andre Braugher hasn't had a vacation in five years — so what did the Homicide star do this summer? ''A lot of running and jumping and darting and diving,'' Braugher says. It was all part of his required regimen for Paramount's late-'95 release Primal Fear, in which he plays an ex-cop who helps a lawyer (Richard Gere) defend a murder case. So did Braugher grab any R&R before heading back onto Homicide's streets? Of course not. ''There's no rest for the wicked.''

Don't Fence Him In
Home Improvement's Jonathan Taylor Thomas brushed up on his Mark Twain this summer, playing the title role in Disney's Tom Sawyer, due this Christmas. He also got a nose job to portray the lying marionette in Savoy's live-action Pinocchio (Martin Landau plays Geppetto in the movie, set for a '96 release). The films have helped Thomas, 13, rack up the frequent-flier miles: ''I've been in the caves of Alabama, on a fishing trip in Canada, and then to Prague,'' he says. ''But I wouldn't do it if I wasn't havin' a blast.''

Ketch as Ketch Can
It was survival of the fittest for Party of Five's Scott Wolf, who spent the summer playing a sailing student whose boat sinks in the fact-based film White Squall. ''I'm greasy, dirty, and shirtless,'' jokes Wolf. He's also well-traveled: The movie, starring Jeff Bridges and set for a Christmas release, took the cast to such exotic locales as Malta, the West Indies, and South Africa. ''I've learned a lot about sailing,'' Wolf boasts. ''Not that I'll be taking out a 110-footer and screwing around on my own...''

A Couple of Swingers
''More civilized than Kramer'' — that's how Jason Alexander describes costar Sammy, who plays a jewel-thieving orangutan in Fox's Dunston Checks In (with Eric Lloyd). The Seinfeld star also found time this summer to sing as a beast (a gargoyle in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame) and play opposite a beauty (Vanessa Williams in ABC's Bye Bye Birdie). ''Believe it or not,'' he says, ''I'm a romantic interest.'' Why no break? ''I'm on a lucky streak — and I'm nervous it's all gonna stop.''

Written and reported by Bruce Fretts, Kirsten McCumber, Kate Meyers, Dan Snierson, and Bret Watson.