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Road Trip
Background:
"I think everyone has certain qualities that make them stars.
But I think the strongest quality anyone has to bring to a film role
is themselves. You have to bring the essence of who you are. That's
where your real strength lies." Amy Smart
American actress Amy Smart initially became known for her
portrayal of the iron-willed girlfriend of James Van Der Beek, Jules
Harbor, in the blockbuster hit Varsity Blues (1999). She gained even
more popularity when she did a nude scene in the 2001 smash flick
Road Trip, playing the role of Beth Wagner, opposite Tom Green. In
2004, Smart caught the attention of the public with her sizzling
performance in the big screen adaptation of the 70's cop series
Starsky & Hutch (2004), in which she won a 2004 MTV Movie Award.
Off Screen, number 27 of Stuff magazine's “102 Sexiest Women
in the World” (2002), Amy Smart was listed as one of Organic
Style magazines’ “Women with Organic Style” in
2004. She was chosen to receive the honor due to her work with such
charitable organizations as the Environmental Media Association,
Humane Society and Heal the Bay. As for her private life, 5' 3”
blonde-haired Smart became engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years,
actor Brandon Williams. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her
boyfriend and her two cats, Yogi and Nala.
Fans can also catch Smart in the recent and upcoming films Bigger
Than the Sky (2005), Just Friends (2006), the romance The Best Man
(2006) and the drama Peaceful Warrior (2006, stars with Scott
Mechlowicz and Nick Nolte).
Tomboy Ballerina
Childhood and Family:
On March 26, 1976, Amy Smart was born in Topanga Canyon,
California, but was raised in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of
John (salesman) and Judy (worked at the J. Paul Getty museum). Amy
also has a brother named Adam (artist).
The blue-eyed beauty was a tomboy as a child and once became the
only girl on her Little League baseball team. Besides baseball,
left-handed Amy studied ballet for ten years. At age thirteen, Amy
tried her hand at modeling.
"Seriously, for me, I'm a real environmentalist and I
volunteer a lot when I'm not working. So, if I were to get $2
million, I would probably want to donate that." Amy Smart
Off screen, Amy is a vegetarian. She is also a humanitarian who
is actively involved in the Humane Society, serves as a director for
the Environmental Media Association and a spokesperson for an
environmental group dedicated to cleaning up the Santa Monica Bay,
called Heal the Bay, as well as attending charities for animal
rights.
Varsity Blues
Career:
Thirteen-year-old Amy Smart got her first job as a model walking
catwalks in New York and Milan, before she broke into acting in 1994
with a role in MTV’s Rock the Vote campaign. Two years later,
Smart decided to fully concentrate on acting and tried to get more
roles in films. She played the role of Queenie in director Bruce
Schwartz’s short film A & P (1996), then landed small roles
in two NBC television movies: Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt
Story (1996) and Her Costly Affair (1996).
In 1997, Smart earned her first film exposure as Molly in the
action/thriller High Voltage (1997, starring Antonio Sabato Jr. and
Shannon Lee). She also appeared in the horror movie Campfire Tales
(1997) and was featured as Jeananne in Stephen Kay's biopic of beat
icon Neal Cassady (played by Thomas Jane), The Last Time I Committed
Suicide (1997). The independent film was screened at 1997's Sundance
Film Festival. Additionally, moviegoers briefly caught Smart in the
Paul Verhoeven science fiction vehicle Starship Troopers (1997,
starring Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer and Denise Richards).
In the following year, Smart delivered a notable turn as Dot
Bryant, an elegant sister of bothered protagonist Bell (played by
Clea DuVall), in the independent comedy How to Make the Cruelest
Month (1998). With Kip Koenig directed at the helm, Smart received
positive reviews from film critics. She next played a role in
Circles (1998), was Tracey Beck in Starstruck (1998) and portrayed
Angela Stravelli in the thriller StrangeLand (1998).
After portraying series regular Daly Roberts in television’s
Brookfield (1999), Smart’s first brush with fame eventually
arrived with a costarring role opposite James Van Der Beek in the
1999 sleeper teen hit Varsity Blues. In the comedy/sport film, Smart
portrayed the iron-willed Jules Harbor, who longs to escape the
football-obsessed culture of her small town. The success of the film
helped to launch Smart’s acting career.
Smart’s career gained more momentum in 1999 when she played
the small, but memorable role, of Jane Weston, the affluent girl who
falls for a working-class young man named Dunphy (played by Shawn
Hatosy) in the touching comedy Outside Providence (1999). Moreover,
Smart landed the reoccurring role of Ruby, the sweetheart of
Felicity's former flame Noel, in WB’s successful "Felicity"
(1999-2001).
Starring as Christie Shales, opposite Brad Rowe, Guy Tory and
Vinessa Shaw, in the unsatisfactory NBC drama miniseries "The
'70s" (2000) was Smart’s opening performance in the new
millennium. The same year, Smart stole the hearts of American boys
when she was cast as Beth Wagner in the gross-out teen flick Road
Trip (2001, alongside Tom Green), in which she appeared topless.
Smart’s nude scene in the comedy helped to launch her as a
sex-symbol.
"The scene, however, was not as scripted. I wasn't expecting
an extensive nude shot, but instead thought I would be topless for
just a bit. But, the way it happened I feel fit well with the script
and worked with the general feel of the movie.” Amy Smart on
her nude scene on Road Trip
After the success of Road Trip, the actress played Stacey, one of
a trio of hippies in the Indie Macbeth adaptation Scotland, Pa (2001,
screened at the Sundance Film Festival), joined Cuba Gooding Jr. and
Whoopi Goldberg in the ensemble film Rat Race (2001, directed by
Jerry Zucker) and played the supporting role of Lynn Linden in
Interstate 60 (2002). In 2003, Smart added to her resume three
films, which included portraying Naomi Feldman in David M. Evans’
comedy After School Special (2003), starring as Tabby, the love
interest of Shia LaBeouf's character in the drama film The Battle of
Shaker Heights (2003) and playing Liz Culpepper in the thriller Blind
Horizon (2003, directed by Michael Haussman).
Smart continued to take on roles in wide screen projects. She
costarred with Ashton Kutcher and Melora Walters in the sci-fi
thriller The Butterfly Effect (2004), appeared as a nurse in Win a
Date with Tad Hamilton (2004) and starred in the short film Willowbee
(2004). Smart again drew attention when she joined the ensemble cast
of the 2004 movie adaptation of the 1970's cop series Starsky &
Hutch. The movie starred Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg and
Fred Wilson. In the comedy film, she picked up a MTV Movie award for
Best Kiss (shared with Owen Wilson) in 2004.
Recently, Smart played the lead of Grace Hargrove/Roxanne in the
drama/romance film Bigger Than the Sky (2005, also starring Marcus
Thomas and John Corbet), and has three wide screen movies in
production, including the comedy film Just Friends (2006), the
romance film The Best Man (2006) and the drama Peaceful Warrior
(2006, stars with Scott Mechlowicz and Nick Nolte).
Awards:
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