Entertainment Spotlight: Houston actor/writer Pavan Grover
3/24/2004 4:42 PM
By: Danielle Bailey
http://www.unspeakablethemovie.com/
http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=26037&SecID=2
Pavan Grover stars in "Unspeakable".
Growing up as a child in India, Pavan Grover dreamed of becoming an actor.
“I always wanted to be an actor when I was young, and actually, that is what I dreamed about as a little boy,” said Grover.
Instead, his mother insisted he become a doctor.
“I think she thought I would outgrow this kind of childish dream, but it’s been a passion of mine for such a long time,” said Grover.
A deal was struck, and Pavan agreed to become a doctor first. Now he has the best of both worlds.
“I couldn’t leave my practice and go to Los Angeles and go for auditions, because I was a full-time doctor. I basically wrote a script with a role for Dennis Hopper, and, he loved the script and signed on right away. And, as a matter of fact, he brought on a lot of other actors and this turned into a huge Hollywood film,” said Grover.
That Hollywood film is the intense psychological thriller, “Unspeakable”.
“I wanted to create a film that you couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen next. And, it’s basically just a fun time and an emotional roller-coaster ride. But, it also deals with the death penalty and, you know, what happens and what a person experiences when they’re taking that walk to death row,” said Grover.
Pavan portrays a darkly handsome killer who is filled with loneliness and rage.
“I get to play a character who’s totally opposite of my personality. I play kind of a serial killer, the next evolution in terms of psychopath. I just think he’s misunderstood, but, you know, it’s a really great role from an acting point of view,” said Grover. “Dennis Hopper is a little bit of a crazy warden. He’s very good at playing crazy, that’s what he does. Dina Meyer is a psychiatrist who’s testing out a new technology called ‘brain fingerprinting’ on death row inmates. And then we develop kind of a cat and mouse relationship, and we have kind of a dark, gothic romance going on. And it just turns into a wild ride.”
And what did the legendary Dennis Hopper think of Houston’s Hollywood newcomer?
“He’s got a lot of power and he’s very dynamic. He seems like he’s going to be very good in this role,” said Hopper.
“Dennis – I love Dennis Hopper. First of all, it was amazing watching him speak lines that you’ve written. And all of a sudden it hits you that you’re actually making a film. He was so supportive to me on the set – basically watching out for me, he was giving me acting tips and he kind of took me under his wing,” said Grover.
Grover says he isn’t worried about what the critics might think.
“Whenever you’re in entertainment, you’re going to create something where some people will like and some people will not like. I mean, that’s just kind of part of the business. So, you know, I’m not, like, quite concerned about how the film will do over at the box office, because just achieving up to this point is really the prize,” said Grover. “If you have a dream, just go for it. I mean, don’t worry about what people think or what will be the end result, or what people will say. You know, you only have one life. And just give it your heart and soul and just go for it.”