Freddie Prinze Jr. And 'All That'
Freddie Prinze Jr., 22, stars in She's All That, playing a high-school heartthrob. Even as the actor attracts young fans, an older generation is keeping an eye on him for another reason: His famous father.
In 1975, the senior Prinze had become a major star with the success of the TV sitcom Chico and the Man. But he developed an addiction to pills and alcohol and fell into a depression so severe that, in January 1977, at the age of 22, he took his own life with a pistol. Freddie Prinze Jr. was only 10 months old.
"A lot of people are saying that as I get older, I'm starting to look more like him," says Prinze. "When I don't shave, I start to look a lot like him."
The actor admits that his high school days were nothing like those he portrays in She's All That.
"I was kind of - not really a nerd. I just didn't fit into any kind of group or clique or whatever you call it. I was kind of on the outside looking in," he explains. "So [the movie role] was kind of my opportunity to be that guy I wasn't necessarily like."
Prinze says he even had a hard time finding a date for the prom.
"My prom was not good," he recalls ruefully. "I have bad luck at dances. I broke up with one of my girlfriends at the first one. I got dumped at the second dance by my girlfriend. The third one, I just said, 'I'm going with a friend, because that way, there's no pressure.' I didn't have fun at that one either."
Prinze is making up for lost time, having fun with his career and his costars. He was one of the young actors in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) with Jennifer Love Hewitt, and he played Claire Danes' boyfriend in To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (1996). But he says his best experience yet has been working with Rachael Leigh Cook in She's All That.
"I've never had more fun than I had making this movie. I really mean that," he says. "I've never worked with a better cast. I get to play a romantic lead on a film opposite Rachael Leigh [Cook], who I know is going to be the biggest star in the world."