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Session Start: Fri May 22 20:22:12 1998 *** Now talking in #TalkCityPresents #TalkCityPresents topic is 5/22 Actor Austin O'Brien, Promised Land LIVE at 6:00 p.m. PST/ PreShow 5:30 p.m. PST <#TalkCityPresents> Chatlet=Auditorium questions=Questions height=36 <#TalkCityPresents> Talk with Austin O'Brien, <#TalkCityPresents> of "Promised Land" at 5:30PM PT <#TalkCityPresents> Austin O'Brien had made over 20 television commercials when he made his feature film debut in Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man It was his co-starring role, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Last Action Hero that brought Austin to everyones attention Austin next starred in Columbias, My Girl 2 Austin can currently be seen playing the older son in the TV series, Promised Land Born in Eugene, Oregon on May 11, 1981, Austin is an avid fan of bike riding, roller blading, baseball, skateboarding, football and magic. He is also a music lover, whose taste ranges from classical to Michael W. Smith to pop rock. Austin lives at home with his dad and mom, his older sister Amanda, his younger brother Trever and his dog Humphrey Bogart O'Brien Austin O'Briens film credits include: The Lawnmower Man (1992) Peter Parkette Prehysteria2 (1993) Jerry Last Action Hero (1993) Danny Madigan ER (1994) (TV guest appearance) Kyle My Girl 2 (1994) Nick Zsigmond Austins additional film credits include: The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) Logan Apollo 13 (1995) Whiz Kid Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996) Peter Promised Land (1996 - ) (TV series) Josh

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Is Everyone Excited??!! Have you sent in your questions for Austin O'Brien? Our Guest has arrived!!

Talk City Presents in association with BoxTop Live (tm) Welcomes You to Tonights Feature Presentation and now without further ado Welcome Austin O'Brien

Tonight, we welcome Austin O'Brien, from the hit television series The Promised Land

mysterygirl says: Austin, welcome to Talk City! You've proven yourself versatile in film and tv work. How does being on a regular series compare to the other work you've done?

It's a totally different world! In film you don't really have a finished date that you have to be done by, so you have more time to work on it. With TV you have a date that you have to be finished, and it's all crammed into 8 days to be done. It's more stressful with TV, but it's also a challenge, and lots of fun!

lindsey1 says: What charater did you play in Apollo 13 and what was it like to be able to work w/ Tom Hanks and Ron Howard??

My character actually got cut out of the movie, but I was the whizz kid, talking about the shuttle going up, and how at any time it could blow up if something went wrong - I was sitting right behind the wives of the astronauts. I didn't get to work with Tom Hanks, but I got to work with Ron Howard, and he was great to work with - three cameras working at one time. An incredibly nice, talented guy.

ogy says: I know you were a model before you acted... just how did you get involved in acting... did you always want to do that?

I did model just once - a little ad for a Japanese spread. But I was actually involved with acting at that time as well, with commercials. From there I kept doing commercials and then got into film. I've been doing it since I was four years old, and I love it. My next door neighbors were in the business, and they thought my sister, brother and I looked 'cute' for the business. They sent some pictures to an agency, and they started sending us out on stuff. I loved the creative experience of it, and just grew with it.

kris23 says: Does your family approve of your acting? do they help out?

Yes, actually, my family is my biggest support group, which has been really cool for me. It can be really easy in the acting business to lose your grip on who you are and what you stand for. They've kept me level-headed, and supported me in what I wanted to do. They took me to auditions, they help me run lines and stuff - nobody's jealous or anything like that. We just stick by each other It's been really, really cool. :-)

suer says: lots of questions.... Are you still in school? Are you going to go to college? What is your favorite subject?

Yes, I'm still in school. I'll be a senior in highschool next year. I'm thinking about where I want to go to college, I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of a large range of subjects.. maybe something involved with music, and business. Or something in the sciences. My favorite subjects now are.. math, and biology.

kirk says: Have you taken any acting lessons?

Yeah, when I was little, and after I'd been doing commercials for a while. I went to some classes with a friend of mine. I never really took too many, but I did work with an acting coach for a while. I think it's always a good idea to have someone who can help you develop your talent even farther, and develop your ideas with someone else's perspective. It helps give a broader sense, and that only helps.

nicelynicely says: What are your plans for the summer? Doing anything special?

Well, let's see! I'm hoping just to take a lot of time off and do a lot of nothing except hanging out with some of my friends back home. I will be taking a short trip to Spain, starting tomorrow! I've never been there before. I love the culture there, and I'll get to use a bit of my Spanish. I'm hoping to maybe do the Space Academy program or something but aside from that I'll just kick it! I've been working hard all year - it's time to play! :-)

trisha says: Do you have any movies coming up?

Not at the moment. I'm auditioning right now for a bunch of things. It would be really nice to be able to do features, but who knows? We'll be going back to Promised Land in mid-July sometime.

meris says: Do you surf the net? and do you have a webpage?

I don't personally have a web page. I know CBS does. I'm actually really computer illiterate, but I things like email. I don't spend much time on the net at all - I get lost! :-)

luv2talk1 says: I don't really have a question i just wanted to tell u that i luv promise land and i think all of the cast does a really good job, it really has good lessons

Awww - thank you very much! :-)

serious says: If you weren't an actor/model, what would you want to be?

A musician. Definitely one of the biggest parts of me is being able to write, play and listen to music. I'm just totally into music. I play guitar, piano and try to sing. Who knows, maybe one of these days... I do play a guitar on the show every now and then, and there's talk about me doing some musical episodes. That's something to look forward to - it would be fun! :-)

terris says: Why are you going to Spain?

I'm just going for the fun of it - to see the culture, and have fun!

calif says: Do you have a favorite actor and actress? Why?

Oh yes! Johnny Depp is probably one of my favorites. I really like his selection of parts. He doesn't really try to do the huge, action parts and all that. He has a really good sense of realism in everything he does. He was in Johnny Brasco, Gilbert Grape, Benny and Joon - major contrast in characters. That's something I really admire. Mary Stewart Masterson, and Meryl Streep - she's incredible. Another one of those actresses who can pull off anything!

davided says: Where is your favorite place to go?

Disneyland. ;-) The happiest place on earth. Really, I like hanging out in coffee shops - that can be quite fun. And the beach.

luis says: Have you done any stage stuff?

I have always been terrified of the stage! For some strange reason I've always been really afraid of performing or being up on stage in front of people. Most people think that's strange, but it's just me. I've never got myself up to doing stage work. My brother and I did a dance/skit thing when we were kids. I remember we were Spiderman and Superman, and he missed his cue. I nudged him and he turned around and punched me! I've had really good experiences with the stage , so I try to stay away from it!

georgey says: What part/s would you like to play... movie, stage, tv..

I always like trying to be totally different people, to challenge and stretch myself. Some parts I'd really love to be able to play are like trying to be a bad guy - that would be fun - or something that's really emotionally challenging. A little bit of everything! I remember trying out for the new Romeo and Juliet. I think they wanted someone a little bit older - I was 12 or 13 at the time. ;-)

supernova says: Austin, you're in great shape, what do you do to stay that way?

I've been working out recently, although that's a recent thing. My Mom always makes sure I eat healthy, which is a good thing! I play sports whenever I can, although there hasn't been much of that lately - I keep going to my brothers' games and thinking "I want to play!"

stardust says: What were your favorite TV shows and movies growing up?

If I had the time, I'd be playing baseball - I always wanted to play football, but my Mom's worried that I might knock my head off or something. I'm small compared to a lot of football players, so she might be right! It's fun just to play with your friends too - they try not to kill you! I always liked Seinfeld, and we'd always be watching the Cosby show. M*A*S*H was always on too. And when I was a little kid I watched Fraggle Rock! I loved that show when I was a little guy!

delilah says: Austin, tell us about your interest in magic

My acting coach really got me involved in that because he's a magician as well. He was always teaching me tricks. For a while I was really good, and could do the up-close hand tricks. I haven't done it much for a while, but it was always great when no one would know what you're doing!

mack1dime says: how was the transition from Commercials to the Big Screen?

It was actually really exciting. I started when I was four, and I didn't get my first feature film until I was nine or ten. I didn't really know what it was about, but it turned out to be this Stephen King horror thing! It was really fun for me - you really get to know people, because you get to work with them for a few months. That's one of my favorite things about acting. You'll then meet half of the same crew when you move on to another movie, so it's always like being with your friends. :-)

sunflower says: What is it like working with such a great cast on Promised Land?

It's been really, really cool!

I would almost say we're pretty much family - cast and crew included. We spend so much time together, and everyone gets along so well. Celeste Holm, who plays my grandmother, is always correcting my English. The kids are always messing around having fun, and Gerald McRaney will step in and be the Dad, and tell us to behave. Then our Mom on the show will tell him to be quiet. ;-) We're always teasing somebody.

blustarr14f says: WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LIKE?

I like lots of music - pretty much music in general. The only thing I don't much like is country stuff, although even some of that is cool. What I particularly like is the Dave Matthews band, Sarah McLaughlin, Michael W. Smith, a band called Third Day, a band called Super Challenge that's a ska group. All kinds of music. And I also like classical stuff.

mysterygirl says: Austin, Happy Belated Birthday!!

Thank you very much! A birthday on a Monday! Can you believe that? ;-)

tamber says: If you could change one thing about the show what would it be?

Hmmm... let me think.

I wouldn't mind if maybe my character could be a little more involved in the action in the deep mystery stuff. My character's dad is taking care of all of that. But it would be fun. Action!

jj says: has your Christian beliefs affected the way you portray the character in the show

Oh yeah. Definitely. That probably affects all that I do and it certainly flows into work. It's been really cool on this show because it's been the basis of our family's beliefs. Because of that I've been able to express things that are very close to my heart, and we've been able to bring up issues that are out there. Apart from the show, there've been parts that were just really not appropriate, and that I didn't believe in, so I've said I just didn't want to be a part of that; it didn't represent what I think.

fullofjoy1 says: Austin, do you get together with other actors from the show over the summer months?

Oh yes - if I can! I'm planning to back up to Utah for a couple of weeks this summer. Being away from them so much over the summer it's like "Arrggh, what am I going to do?!"

ezguest6 says: Austin what was the best role did you ever have

Probably some of the most challenging stuff... I did an episode of Touched By An Angel, in which I get shot and was going blind. That's something I can't relate to, so it was very challenging. I worked with a man who's blind, so I could learn from him.

mack1dime says: what was it like working with Arnold?

Arnold is The Man! :-)

That was so much fun - he was such a great guy. We were always calling each other names, hanging out and having fun. He was always calling everyone a 'low forehead', that was his saying. Everyone else on the set would be calling him "Mr.", and I'd yell at him and call him 'low forehead', and just kid around. He was very nice to work with - a great person. It would definitely be fun to work with him again. I would not be disappointed!

sec12 says: Hi Austin. Do you write the music that you play on the show?

It depends. Usually I just sort of play, and they dub something over it, because they don't want to get into that business. I'm hoping to maybe next year; there's been some talk about it. I have a few times, and it's been fun.

sunflower says: Do you have any desire to be a missionary? If so, where?

Interesting... you know I've actually thought about it, and I've done some of that before. My church goes down to Mexico during spring break, to some of the poverty-stricken villages. It's really powerful - more of an awakening and eye-opener to us. We think we're going down to help them, but they end up teaching us. I think it would be an incredible experience. I don't know where I'd go, but wherever God would want me, that's where I'd end up. :-)

haldane- says: hello Austin! I first saw you in your Circut City commerical, you were adorable! back then, what were your 'goals' as far as acting? did you ever think you'd make it this far? :)

Wow! Circuit City! That was a long time ago!

I think my goals now are probably the same as they were then. I just want to keep going where I'm going, playing around with different parts. I love the creative expression, and sharing. I hope to be able to continue acting, and if not I'd really love to continue going with music. It's a major expression of mine - just sitting down with a guitar and letting the music flow out of me. I'd love to do either - or both! :-)

lolipop says: Do you have any pets?

Oh yes! Quite a few! We have three dogs, two of which are from Romania. All of them are street mutts. Someone brought the last one around Christmas time, and we adopted it. My brother was working in Romania and brought back two dogs - strange looking things, but they're cool. Until recently we had three or four cats, but there was a coyote loose in the neighborhood, and he bagged one of them. :-( We've had other animals, but they're gone now. We might be getting an iguana soon though! :-)

katiya says: what is the hardest part about being an actor... what is the easiest

The hardest part is trying to relate to experiences you just haven't had, and make them be real. That's the biggest challenge and the biggest thrill at the same time. The easiest part is being able to portray the things you have experienced, relate to it, and be with the people! It's just fun.

tcc says: Hi Austin, I just wanted to let you know that you are a great actor and I hope to be seeing you on the big screen real soon.

How cool! Thanks tcc.

andri says: Did you like the way the season finale ended? Some of the people on the PL list took the death of Baby Grace pretty hard.

That was pretty interesting. It was a very strong message in that show, although it was rather harsh. It was difficult filming - I haven't experienced anything like that before.

orca says: Who or what inspires you in your work?

I just love going and watching films and TV, and I tend to just watch the actors and the cinematography and directing. Every time I go to see a movie I'm inspired to go do good work. Directing and writing are other things I'd like to be able to do. One of the most real movies I've seen, with dialogue and acting, was Good Will Hunting. That made me say "alright, I want to write a script now with a buddy of mine!" :-)

shawks says: Who is your favourite comedic actor? . .would you like to do comedy for a change?

I'd love to be able to do comedy! It's something I really haven't done before. Favorite comedic actors would be Adam Sandler or Chris Farley - those Saturdy Night Live guys make me laugh my head off. :-)

sunflower says: What was your brother doing in Romania? (I have friends who are missionaries there :-)

He was filming a show called 'Midas Kid', which is out on video now.

jkel says: What's the thing you and your brother have about tophats with your tuxes?

LOL - that was something I thought would be really cool one year. We wore it for the young artist awards, and showed up in tails, with a top hat and a cane. My brother rather liked the idea, and he came that way the next year. It was fun - a little Johnny Depp inspired, from Benny and Joon. I was really inspired by that for a while - those sorts of hats. ;-)

tamber says: - what do you like about playing Josh the most? yeah Tamber, two for you!

Probably that I've gotten to mess around with him a lot. I've pretty much had the freedom to make him my own character - to develop him, which has been fun for me since there wasn't too much character description to start. He's been through a lot of loops and twists. :-) One of the surprises was when I found out we were going to be doing a big musical episode, and I was preparing for it, studying blues and all. Then that fell through and I found out I was going to be blind! I'd never done that before, and had to figure out how to do it. That was definitely one of the most surprising things for me!

query says: Are you a fan of old movies? Is that why you named your dog Humphrey Bogart?

We named the dog Humphrey after a whale that was saved in the bay, and then we gave him the last name O'Brien, so his initials are HBO. ;-) I really love old movies - Jimmy Stewart in It's A Wonderful Life - it's really fun to see where actors and directors where then, and where we are now. :-)

cccmyst says: Austin, is't been a pleasure to have you here with us! Are there any final thoughts you'd like to leave us with?

Thanks for making it fun to be here! Have an awesome summer! :-)

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 As the spotlight dims, tonight's show comes to an end.
 We thank you, our great audience, and a
 very special Thank You to our guest
 .........Austin O'Brien ............
 We look forward to seeing you again soon.
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Session Close: Fri May 22 21:53:48 1998