Tom Skerritt may not be a household name, but he's bound to become far more familiar to moviegoers this summer with the release of two films, Spacecamp (20th Century Fox) and Top Gun (Paramount). In the latter, Skerritt plays Viper, a Vietnam fighter pilot. In Spacecamp, he plays Zach, a former astronaut and head of the space camp.
The handsome, lanky, grayhaired and blue-eyed actor is surprisingly soft-spoken. He admits that he's basically shy and has been unwilling to do much publicity in the past. Skerritt lives away from Hollywood with his wife, Sue, a writer, and their four children. The family has homes in the Santa Monica Mountains and in British Columbia. His friends tend not to be performers. When not working, he occupies himself with mundane activities such as gardening, plumbing, and his own writing.
A native of Deroit, Skerritt never aspired to performing. "I grew up in the Midwest, and movie stars meant Saturday matinees, Milkduds, and popcorn," he confesses. He was studying art in college when a director-friend asked Skerritt to play a small part. Skerritt took it to overcome his extreme shyness. He explains, "I had to take the challenge and not skirt the issue." After that initial role, he continued to perform on stage and eventually moved to Los Angeles. His first film appearance was a role in Warhunt (1962). Then, he was cast by Robert Altman in television's Combat. Altman later cast him as the wild dentist in M'A'S'H (1970). Skerritt appeared in other features while working in Italy for three years. Upon his return to the States, he played Shirley Maclaine's husband in The Turning Point (1977), and his performance garnered him a National Board of Review Best Supporting Actor Award.
Skerritt followed this role with feature and television appearances, including HBO’s The Hitchiker and the series Ryan's Hope. He chooses his roles by identifying with the characters. "I can't play someone I don't like," he confesses. Skerritt also examines the overall packages, including the director and producer. He acknowledges making some forgettable films while in Italy but feels the place and people were more important than the films. Skerritt likes to ask himself if he would pay his "five bucks to sit and see the film."
Skerritt is very enthusiastic about his summer releases. Top Gun, according to him, will be a breakthrough picture for director Tony Scott. Skerritt read twenty pages of the script and was convinced he wanted the role. Knowing that the producers were Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer of Beverly Hills Cop and Flashdance fame definitely contributed to his decision. Skerritt filmed Spacecamp con-currently contributed to his decision. Skerritt filmed Spacecamp concurrently, again praising the abilities of the production team involved. Skerritt admits, "I'd rather work with mediocre material and a great filmmaker than the reverse."
He describes Spacecamp as a moving story about the relationships that develop among the teens attending space camp who suddenly find themselves on a shuttle mission. "The movie was always powerful," Skerritt says, "and the Challenger disaster only enhances the power of the Midwest work ethic."
The pace of acting doesn't always satisfy Skerritt. "Sometimes, it's more of a vacation," he says, because of the long waits between shoots." Skerritt writes and hopes to produce or
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