The actor returns to New York with two new films BYMrcHAELcrr,rz ex and tlie City" may be frlming in NewYork, but Ron Livingston isn't promoting the retum of his character, average-guy witer Jack Berg- er, the guy who briefly won the heart of Carrie (Sarah Jcssica Parker) during rhe show's run - atrd helped to tum the catchptx'ase "He's just not that into you" into a pop-culture touchstone (lots of fans still think Car- rie should have wound up with Berger md not Chris Noth's Mr, Big ) Nope, Livingston is cal.ling from L A , where he's fllmirrg "The Time Traveler's wife" with Eric Bana and Rachel McAd- ams (a sort of "Somewhere in Time" for our time, based on the best-selling nov- el) And he's promoting two new labors of love: "Holly," opening Friday, is an un- blinking look at prostitution and sex traf- fickrng in Cambodia, and "Music Within," just out, is the true story of a real-life ad- vocate for the physically challenged who didn't oyercome his own Vietnm-war re- lated deafness so much as ignore it.</p><p> As for Livingston, he can't ignore the fact that he recently tumed 40 "An actor's career doesn't feel likejust one cileer to me," says Iivingston, who wm raised in Iowa by his Lutherm minister mom and engineer dad "It feels like about five or six Becase ev- ery six or seven years, you look in the minor md you have a completely different prod- uct All of a sudden, 'Oh, I guess I'm in this business now. last I remembered, I was in the dashing yomg mm business ' It always feels like you're at the begiming of some ca- reer you don't undeNtand " Luckily for Livingston, he's been trad- ing on an everlman appeal his entire ca- reer to great effect, and tuming the big 4-oh won't change that He's still boyish enough to play the lead in "Music Within" at both 20 and in his alOs (thanks to a very adaptable haircut).</p><p> And clearly under- stands something about acting His first big break came in "Swingers," a role in the 1996 film that launched Vince Vaughn and Jon Faweau which might have doomed a lesser talent to a lifetime of people saying 'You're so money" to him.</p><p> Wouldn't it be depressing if people always associated you with one role? "IJ it was something I liked, I'll take one over none," laughs Livingston, who is single md doesn't mind the off and on nature ofthe business, because he says he enjoys being lzy as much as working Fortunately, he didn't have to find out what it was like to be associated with just one movie: 1999's "Oftice Space" is a cult comedy of such enduring popularity that Livingston's Buddha-like approach to getting ahead in business without real- ly trying can be quoted at length by offrce" drones all over the country.And before that role could tJT)ecast him foreve4, he had his stint on "Sex and the City," not to mention a string of acclaimed roles in other projects, most notably his tum as an alcoholic in the Tom Hanks/ Steven Spielberg World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers," one of the most popu- lil HBO programs eYer .</p><p> Throw in the prematurely canceled sit- com "Towies" (with MoUy Ringrilald and then-unknoms Jenna Elfman and Lauren Graham), his flashy tum as lawyer Alan Lowe in a multi-episode arc on "The Prac- tice," an Off Broadway stint in Neil LaB- ute's "In a Dark Dark House," and two separate weaselly executives in "The Cool- er" and "Adaptation," and clearly, Liyings- ton hasn't had much chance to laze about He hopes his two new films will actively get audiences into theaters "Music with- in' depicts the life of Richud Pimentel. who was the primary force behind the pas- sage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a civil-rights landmark that opened the door (md built the ramps) for people living with physical handicaps And "Holly" shows the Menclr- ingly diffidt problem of sex traf- frcking md child prostitution, via the story of a washed-up guy in Cambodia who be- comes obsessed with trying to rescue a 14-year-old girl trapped in abrothel (Itwas filmed on Iocation in dan- gerous areas often controlled by criminals ) Neither fllm sw pulls its punches, but Livingston can see a sliver of light at the end of "HolJy'' despite its lack of heartwamirg TV-movie-style resolution. "A guy who was looking for a chance to redeem himself, redeemed himself," says Livingston "And a girl who had no choic- es finally had some choices- We wanted the audience to feel that the story is not done yet, and it's time for the audience to get involved if they want the story to have a happy ending " tN 'S1 iiEo B a N o=Uz = r @ N o a 6o 6o= @
