"Masterminds" Star Keeps Hollywood At Arm's Length

According to Vincent Kartheiser, the 18-year-old lead in the new movie "Masterminds", being a teen star is pretty cool. But like vitually every actor in Hollywood, he sure wishes there were better scripts to choose from. "Lots of them are the same," reports Kartheiser during the recent conversation in a posh Beverly Hills hotel where he is promoting "Masterminds". "I think we did this one very well, but it has been done before."

In Masterminds," Kartheiser plays a 16-year-old computer whiz who just happens to find himself trapped on the grounds when suave Patrick Stewart takes his little sister's school hostage. Can you say "Die Hard" meets "Toy Soldiers"?

"The thing is, at 16 years old many characters are alike," he politely complains. "They're being written by 40 year old men who don't see the need to make the 16-year old a person. They don't really try to understand him. But that's fine. When I'm in my twenties there'll be other roles. I'm not into pictures where teenagers steal their mom and dads' cars and party for ten days. That doesn't appeal to me."

There is no petulance in Kartheiser's assessment to teen movies. In fact, he comes across as rather savvy observer of the business, having been acting for much of his younger life. Perhaps his detachment comes from the fact that he doesn't live in Hollywood. When not on location, he lives at home with his family in Minneapolis.

"I have friends in L.A. and friends in New York, but Minneapolis is really where I feel comfortable," he says. "Staying away from all this, it brings me back to what it's really about. So when I come out here for five days and I have ten auditions, I go in there and it's not like an old process. I haven't done this in six months and I really get worked up for it. I only go in for projects that I like. You move to L.A. and you've gotta work hard because you've gotta pay bills. I'm living at home with my parents. I don't have bills to pay."

Kartheiser has a 4.0 average in school and is hoping to graduate this fall. He intends to go to college sometime next year. "I'd love to go to Stanford, if they'd accept me, and knock off $20,000 off the tuition," he laughs. " If they don't, Berkeley. If that doesn't work, UCLA. I'd like to major in history and maybe do some writing." But not drama. "I've been learning this skill for 11 years. There's a lot to learn, but there's other stuff to learn than how to pretend."

-Joey Berlin, Hollywood News: Berlin in Hollywood

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