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The move worked, for
the aspiring actor found a career beyond modelling
in her chosen field. First came single-episode shots
on series television: i (1995/96, different
characters), ER (1996), Minor Adjustments (1996),
and Chicago Hope (1997). Suvari continued attending
school during this time, and fellow students noticed
their self-described less-than-popular classmate
turning up in everything they were watching.
Suvari's "real high school experience,"
she says, came in the roles she played in later
movies.
Those roles rolled
in. The teen was cast in Nowhere (1997), Kiss the
Girls (1997), Snide and Prejudice (1998), Slums of
Beverly Hills (1998), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1998),
Live Virgin (1999), Atomic Train (1999, TV), and the
big one - American Pie (1999). Suvari was
"noticed" for her work in Pie and snapped
up for the hugely successful American Beauty that
same year.
For the latter, the
talented young actor netted a British Academy award
nomination, and shared Online Film Critics Society
and Theatrical Motion Picture ensemble awards.
Suvari was also named a Vanity Fair Star of
Tomorrow, and one of YoungHollywood.com's Most
Promising Faces. Lovingly tended and oft-visited
webshrines devoted to their "incomparably
beautiful" subject confirmed audience devotion.
The year 2000 saw
the 21-year-old graduate from high school roles to
silver screen college in the big-budget Loser. The
actor next lent her voice to the animated Angry
Beavers.
Off-screen, Suvari
delights industry press by being Best Dressed at
every gala, but disappointed the fickle bunch with a
"matronly upswept do" at the Oscars.
"I still think I looked nice," the natty
star shrugged, in interview. She and new (March,
2000) husband, cinematographer Robert Brinkman, kept
media flurry down with a quiet wedding and low-key
announcement.
Suvari's most
recent project, Sugar and Spice (2001), puts her
back in high school, but the costumes for the
upcoming D'Artagnan will include no cheerleading
outfits. Critically acclaimed for a range that takes
her characters from sweet to vulgar, innocent to
criminal, Suvari has found her calling in acting.
Only 21, she has hopes of future behind-the-camera
work - directing, she says, writing or producing. In
the meantime, it looks as if she'll have plenty to
do before the camera. |
