That Thing He Does! Tom Everett Scott U on the Ja.1T Track to Hollywood C1tardom
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et al.: On Our Short List 0 N 0 U R 5 H 0 R T L I 5 T he 1996 film That Thing You But back then he w as just Tom Scott. That Thing Dol hits video stores this The Screen Actors Guild doesn't allow spring and stars Sy racuse two union members to have the same T drama grad Tom Everett name, so w hen he registered and found He Does! Scott '92 as goofY good-guy there was already a Tom Scott, he had to Guy Patterson. It's a light-hearted movie go w ith his full name. "For a while I about the fast fame of a fi ctional sixties thought, 'This is my chance to change Tom Everett Scott u rock ba nd called The Wonders. Oscar my name, be something cool like Tom winner Tom Hanks, who wrote and H endrix, or just be one w ord, like on the ja.1t track to directed the feature, handpicked Scott to Flash,"' he say s. In the end, though, the play the band's drummer and on-screen more sedate Tom Everett Scott won out. HoLLywood c1tardom love interest opposite actress Liv Ty ler. Things went more smoothly after Scott is adapting to That Thtizg'.J $25.5 that; Scott started w inning roles after only four months of serving w ings and beer. First came a Diet Coke ad w ith Victoria Secret model Stephanie Sey mour: "It ran for a week," h e laments. Then came commercials for a fast-food chain, toothpaste, and a furniture store in M ary land. Sitting on a sofa with 18 other people during the furniture shoot, he feared: "This is going to end me. I'll just be Furniture Boy. You have these nightmares y ou'll be st uck as Orville Redenbacher's grandson for the rest of y our life." During this period Scott found him self fending off an avalanche of advice from a dozen would-be agents. "A lot of small agents w anted me to sign for a year. They were telling me w hat to do. Cut y our hair. Grow your hair. And I was being an idiot thinking they were my lifeline." But Scott decided to be true to himself -if he w anted film he should stick w ith film; m eanw hile h e w ould ask casting directors w hich agen ts wer e worth their salt and ditch the others. Eventually Scott signed w ith J . M ichael Bloom, one of the top casting agencies in N ew York City. At a bout the same time he and some buddies, frus trated by bad acting op p ort unities, began a nonprofit stage group called TheatreCo in N ew York 's East Village, Tom Everett Scott '92 (front row, right) starred in the 1996 film That Thing You Do!, which was written and w here Scott directed and acted in a directed by Oscar winner Tom Hanks (front row, left). Scott also has a role on the TV sitcom Grace Under Fire. num ber of offbeat productions. "We tried to be as cutting edge as we could and y ou know it's tough for a b unch of million box-offi ce success w ith grace and w hite kids from middle-class b ack humility, w hich isn't easy considering grounds to be very cutting edge," he that at 26 he has already been profil ed in says. To pay the bills, h e worked on a TV PeopLe, featured on the cover of Enter p ilot that didn't get picked up, gu est tainment WeekLy, and appeared on the starred on t he television series Law d Late Show with Dav/2 Letterman. C learly Order, and did an after-school special. he's come a long way since his days as a But it was a recurring role on the TV first-year S U communications major w ho sitcom Grace Under Fire-playing a son worked nights on security at H aven H all. that Grace gave up as an infant for adop- 8 Published by SURFACE, 1997 SYRA C USE UN I VER S I TY MAGAZINE 1 Syracuse University Magazine, Vol. 13, Iss. 3 [1997], Art. 5 Big Brother Is from their p laying schedules. T he actions of the poli tical science student Watching proved successful. Overall, his SU expe rience was memorable. "There weren 't BiLL Hunter '65 many places black athletes could go to school, " H unter recalls. "Syracuse was a at do Nationa l Basketball haven for us." W;Association (NBA) forwards When Hunter went on to a profession Grant H ill, S hawn Kemp, al football career w ith the Washington and Scottie Pippen have in common? Redskins and Miami Dolphins, he also Aside from th e fact that they guard one learned firsthand there's more to being a another on the court, they are also professional athlete than performance on watched over by S U a lumnus Bill the field . Today, he ensu res that N BA H unter '65. p layers succeed off the court through Hunter is director of th e NBA seminars on substance and spousal abuse, P layers Association, the labor union relationships, H IV awareness, and finan t hat looks out for its 400 members. cial planning, as well as continuing edu "Just as N BA Commissioner D avid cation programs that help players com Stern represen ts the teams, I represent plete u ndergraduate stu dy or p ursue the players," H u nter says. "I am like a graduate degrees. "Everything I do for b ig brother to them." this association is focused on developing A sixties-style crusader for socia l an organization that is respected for its change, Hunter is no stranger to chal competence, integrity, and interest in the Tom Everett Scott, who played a goofy good-guy pop lenging injustice or motivating others to success of its members," he says. band drummer in That Thing You Do!, performed opposite actress Liv Tyler. do th e same. As captain of the 1964 Alth ough professional sports was Orangemen football team, he encour Hunter's passion, he also realized he need tion w ho shows up at her door as an aged athletes of color like Dave Bing ed a backup plan in case his athletic adult-that grabbed Han ks' attention. '66, F loyd Little '67, and others to sign a career faltered. To that end, he enrolled Scott was offered a five-year contract petition removing segregated schools at Howard University Law School to with the show. "The money was more than I ever thought of making, b ut I turned it down so as not to be locked into something," he says. It was a wise m ove: Turning down that contract left the door open when he was approached to star in That Thtizg. A week after That Thing wrapped up, ~ After earning a degree in broadciUt jour Scott was cast as the lead in An American nalilm from the S.l. Newhouse School of Public Werewolf in Pari! (due in theaters this Communications, Holly Lehr '88 hoped to become May). After that he filmed an Red River, the next Diane Sawyer. Four years after gradua independent film that's still awaiting a tion, however, her career plans took an unexpect d istributor. ed turn, and Lehr found herself working in pub Scott hasn't found his next project yet. lic relations. One of her primary tasks: giving He will leave for Europe to promote away millions of dollars a week to some very happy recipients. That Thing for a few weeks and use that As part of her job, the New Jersey Lottery public information officer time to mull things over. In the mean hands over the big bucks to lucky winners and changes their lives for time, catching up on some much-needed ever. As the lottery's spokesperson, Lehr also coordinates all media sleep and puttering around the house relations and sets up press conferences and photo opportunities for appear to be a top priority. America's newest millionaires. "The best publicity for the lottery is for "''m trying to find time to do things I people to see others who have won," she says. "It happens to normal want to do," Scott says, "like I just put a people every day." cabinet up in the bathroom and towel Lehr has seen firsthand the dramatic effect money can have on peo hooks on the back of the door; things ple. Some quit their jobs and end up in financial trouble, she says, while I've been needing to do for me and for others are cautious with their newfound wealth and invest it wisely. my sanity. "Winning is a wonderful experience, but you have to be smart about "Oh, and I have to go pick up my it," Lehr says. -Elaine Cipriano laundry." -NANCY CHAII'IBERS 9 https://surface.syr.edu/sumagazine/vol13/iss3/5 SPRING 199 7 2 et al.: On Our Short List CaJjfornia, he handled major drug cases, the Hell's Angels, and was involved with Spreading the Word the infamous Patty Hearst trial. As Shanti Da.J '95 president of the Port Commis sion for the city of Oak hanti Das has a mission at LaFace land, California, he neg S Records in Atlanta: Spread the otiated contracts with sound of new music being generat shippers throughout the ed by the highly successful label that's world.