Le Gros's Point

For every Point Break tidal wave in James Le Gros's career, there is a Drugstore Cowboy and a My New Gun. For every Oscar-hyped Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, there is a little gem like Floundering (you can see both in theaters now). J|H^H "When you're the crown prince of the independent-filmfest circuit, it's a never-ending movie escapade of all kinds, shapes, and sizes," says the 32year-old Le Gros. In Mrs. Parker, he plays Round Table aesthete Deems Taylor; in Floundering, a IH comedy about life in post-riot L.A., the Minnesota native stars as John Boyz, a character Le Gros describes as "forever falling."

Married to an actress, Kristina Loggia (daughter of actor Robert Loggia), Le Gros works compulsively (he has six films in the can and two in production). And often he finds himself competing against established character stars for roles, rather than generic Gen X pretty boys. "Sometimes," he says, "it's just me, Ned Beatty, and Tom Waits." Still, there are the occasional pangs of semi-obscurity—despite all the work. And when people gaze at him with vaguely knowing eyes, he doesn't avoid them the way he used to. "When they ask me what I do I say, 'I'm in show business.' " And then when they ask, " 'Really, what do you do?' my answer usually is 'What don't I do?'"

D.J.