Why is Vinnie Crying?

It doesn't take much for Vinnie Kartheiser to start balling. This 17-year-old Minnesota native, who appears very cool--literally--in his first starring role in 1996's Alaska (which, by the way, was just released on video), can do more than rub noses with a polar bear and hang off a mountain. He can cry on cue. And you may see him shedding a few tears in his future film Smart Alec, in which, he says, he may do a few scenes with "raw emotion."

Crying on cue is one of the many acting techniques Vinnie has been polishing since he was 7 years old, when he snagged his first role as Tiny Tim in a hometown production of A Christmas Carol. He then took his tears on the road, touring nationally with the Children's Theatre of Minneapolis. After 10 years of practice, he can now do it in a heartbeat.

"I could start crying right now," he tells BB. "I could bring the tears and break down for you." Whoa! Hold on, blue eyes! Do we really want to experience this? (Short Pause.) "I am crying right now," he says. Just like that, Vinnie's tears can run like a river without a warning.

But how can Vinnie cry so easily? "That's easy," he explains. "That's technical. When you want to feel it, that's different." Vinnie has found that it takes years to develop the skills and sensitivity of a great actor. He believes it takes more skill to act with the heart than it does to shed a few tears. "If you can't act with your heart, if you can only act with your eyes and your voice..." he continues, without finishing his sentence with words. Instead, he begins to cry.

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