Tom Guiry: he contends with Dirty Harry at work and spongebob at home

Interview, Nov, 2003 by Susan Johnston

A fast-driving "Jersey guy," 23-year-old Tom Guiry has slowed down since becoming a father four years ago. "Having my son made me grow up. I'm keeping my dangers in the movies."

The most recent of which is the new Mystic River. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film follows three men (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon) through 30 years of tragedy and coincidence; Guiry plays the boyfriend of Penn's murdered daughter. For most of his time onscreen, his character is being interrogated by Bacon's cop. For most of his time offscreen, he was terrified. "There's not much rehearsal with Clint," Guiry says, "so you have to be ready. You don't want to screw up, you know?."

Guiry's been working--mostly in teen movies--since age 11, and recently he's been scoring parts in more mature pictures, like Black Hawk Down (2001), Mystic River, and a co-starring role opposite Emile Hirsch in the upcoming drama The Mudge Boy. Still, Guiry is largely unknown. Not that he minds. "If you don't get famous when you're a kid, it makes the transition to adult actor easier." Though it would be nice to impress his son: "He'll say, 'I don't wanna watch a Daddy movie.' But if I were animated, he'd watch me all day long."

Special thanks: SUN WEST STUDIOS. For fashion details see page 113.

Susan Johnston is a frequent Interview contributor.