He may play the smug, hunky, obnoxious boy-you-love-to-hate better than anyone since Jared Leto stole Angela Chase's heart on "My So-Called Life," but talking about himself makes Paul Walker really nervous.
"Can you tell I'm nervous?" he asks softly, staring at the table and avoiding eye contact. "Because I really am."
This admission is coming from the all-American teen idol with telling blue eyes and a surfer-boy body. "Well, yeah," Walker, an avid real-life surfer, admits. "I'm not used to signing autographs and things like that yet. I even get freaked out when people come up to me and call me by name instead of 'that guy from "Varsity Blues.'" It's a very strange experience. I wonder if I'll ever get used to it."
After a string of minor supporting roles in hit films like "She's All That" and "Pleasantville" garnered him mild success - especially in the eyes of his YM-reading female fans - "that guy from 'Varsity Blues'" is moving on up with a chunky role in "The Skulls." Here Walker plays a spoiled rich kid who becomes involved in a dangerous cover-up after joining his college's most prestigious secret society.
"I was sick of playing high school, and I really liked this script and this particular character," Walker said. "Everything I did up to then had been pretty straight-forward, not too deep, and this guy is a seven-layer cake compared to the guys I've played in the past. It was definitely a step in the right direction."
Fearful the studios would typecast him in predominantly teen-oriented films, Walker deliberately chose this film's more villainous role to twist his image even further than before. "Oh God, I hate labels like teen hunk," the actor said, grimacing. "My buddies like to harass me as much as possible about stuff like that."
But his buddies may be revering Walker rather than annoying him if, like all those Internet rumors insist, he lands the coveted role of the teenage Darth Vader in the upcoming "Star Wars" prequel.
"I think I want to be Anakin Skywalker more than anyone else on the face of the earth," Walker admits, a huge smile lighting his face. "I mean, I have the last name, right? I remember walking out of the theater after seeing 'Star Wars' for the first time - I must have been six years old or something - and telling my mom I was going to name my son Luke Skywalker. I'm just a huge 'Star Wars' freak!"
"George Lucas pretty much has final say, but I heard I was once on the top of the list," Walker adds, turning more serious. "But the talk right now is I'm too old."
Too old for that role, maybe, but Walker's future looks like it is going to last far longer than that teen icon label. "I'm definitely going to try not to take those teen film roles anymore, though." Walker says. "I guess I look young, but I'm 26. Then again, if it helps me get Anakin, I'm willing."
