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“Urban Legends: Final Cut”: Joseph Lawrence Interview

CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 12, 2000 — It was 1991, and 15-year-old Joey Lawrence was headed for stardom. Courtesy of a sitcom called “Blossom,” his lovable-but-dimwitted older brother character, and the catchphrase that would sweep the nation (“Woh!”), was the breakout star of the show.

Two years later, he even released a solo album with a minor hit, “Nothin’ My Love Can’t Fix,” and Joeymania was born. He found himself on posters, T-shirts and stickers. He won his own sitcom, “Brotherly Love,” costarring younger brothers Matthew and Andrew, after “Blossom” was canceled.

But Lawrence always wanted more; he wanted to be a movie star. So after “Brotherly Love’s” cancellation in 1997, he disappeared. He took some time off, working on his degree at the University of Southern California, and plotted his return.

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“I just didn’t want to do it too soon,” says Lawrence, now going by Joseph and leaving Joey and his “woh!” far behind. “Cause I didn’t want to overexpose myself or do a bunch of little teen movies and stuff. So I was lucky; when I had my explosion with teen fans and kids I was a teenager; I was the same age. I wasn’t 24 playing 16. …I look back on that, and I feel very fortunate that it was that way. Cause now everybody who knows who I am, everyone who’s watched and appreciated what I’ve done, they’re all my own age now.”

For one of his first steps into feature films, Lawrence appears in “Urban Legends: Final Cut,” the sequel to the 1998 horror film “Urban Legend.” As slightly sinister film student Graham Manning, Lawrence wields a cell phone most of the time, trying to milk connections he has through his rich father while his colleague, Amy (Jennifer Morrison), directs a horror movie as her thesis project (based on urban legends, don’tcha know). All thesis films are competing for the prestigious Hitchcock Award, so when students begin mysteriously dying one by one, everyone becomes a suspect.

Despite the presence of older cast members such as Loretta Devine (“Waiting to Exhale”) and Hart Bochner (“Anywhere But Here”), Lawrence was the veteran on the set, with a 20-year career (he’s only 24!) that started with an appearance on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” at age 5. Riding his cuteness to a role on “Gimme a Break,” Lawrence made his way through child stardom with ease.

Now he’s transitioning from teen idol to serious actor, so far avoiding any “True Hollywood Story”-worthy personal scandals.

“I had a great family, great mom. … I knew what the right thing to do was and I did that,” Lawrence says. “I’m a young guy but I’ve worked for 20 years, so there’s a lot of experience there to draw from. And I don’t fall victim to the pitfalls that are out there because my eyes are wider than that.”

While he still dabbles in music and makes plans to return to the recording studio, Lawrence’s focus right now is solely on establishing himself as a movie actor. His drive and ambition are obvious, and while he knows it might take him a while to get “a Joseph Lawrence film” into theaters, he’s willing to go the distance.

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“I take it seriously and I work hard, and I feel the only way to succeed is you have to work hard,” he says. “And you gotta prepare and take each thing like it’s an individual project. Not look ahead, not look behind, just keep plodding ahead.

“I’ve never been an overnight success. I’m glad I haven’t been because you come into town and five months later you’re in a $120 million movie, where do you go from there? So when I get to that point — which I hope I do and I think I will — I want to be prepared. I want to have a producing credit and at least have some say creatively. And that’s where you protect yourself, and when I say it’s my movie it really is my movie.”

“Urban Legends: Final Cut” slices into theaters Sept. 22.

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