LOS ANGELES -- Did Keanu Reeves leave a good-luck acting spirit in his old apartment in Toronto?
Some time after The Matrix superstar's mother vacated the apartment on St. Clair Avenue, and Reeves had been living in L.A., the family of up-and-coming actor Jonathan Keltz moved in. Keltz, who was born in New York, was only 14 at the time and had always thought of becoming an actor.
"They told us Keanu had lived in the very same apartment and I remember being psyched about it," Keltz, now 22, recalls. "I was a kid and wanted to be an actor too and I thought it was a great coincidence."
Within two years of moving in, Keltz was a season regular on Degrassi: The Next Generation and nabbed the eye of Toronto talent agent Ronda Cooper, who helped arrange more auditions directly in Hollywood.
Whether it was actor dust Reeves left somewhere in a corner of the apartment or -- far more likely -- Keltz's strong work ethic, energy, boy-next-door good looks and humour, Keltz has been on one mean Hollywood trajectory ever since.
As a teen, Keltz won numerous roles in TV series and movies such as Queer as Folk, Dadnapped and American Pie Presents: Beta House. This year, with his acting chops maturing, he's getting meatier roles -- and a lot of them.
A season regular on the hit HBO series Entourage (a small, yet recurring role as a talent agent), Keltz also won a comic lead in a big upcoming Disney movie, Prom.
While wrapping up filming for Prom in August, Keltz said he was wondering what was next when his phone rang on a Monday morning: It was an offer to co-star in a suspense film with Christian Slater called Playback, due for release next year.
"I booked that and thought, 'This is great,' when my phone rang again, 45 minutes later," recalls Keltz.
This time it was producers from CSI: Miami asking him to play a blind witness to an abduction. One caveat -- he had to study his character, know his lines -- and be on set, ready to roll within 48 hours.
Instead of channelling luck from the St. Clair apartment, Keltz got to work, studying through the Internet how a sightless person could still be a key witness by using his other senses.
"I couldn't use contacts or sunglasses, just my eyes. I watched Scent of a Woman to watch the master (Al Pacino), a number of other clips and prepped all night and the next day on what it's like to move in the world without vision. I couldn't use contacts or sunglasses, just my eyes."
How did he do? "I don't know," he laughed in a telephone interview. "I got very positive feedback on the set, but I'll be seeing it like everybody else when it airs" on Oct. 17.
After shooting eight days on CSI: Miami, Keltz then got into his role for Playback, which started shooting about a week afterward.
"I'm running and gunning," said Keltz of what it's like to change into such a wide range of characters on such short notice. "It's a challenge but I'm grateful and having so much fun."
No wonder on his myspace account, Keltz lists his mood as "busy." Keltz next flies to Spain to co-star in Last Shot, a Canadian/Spanish co-production starring Michael Ironside. That gives him a few weeks to visit his folks in Toronto and maybe to return to L.A. to dust his furniture in his Beverly Hills home.
During his venturing, the young Keltz has met a lot of heavyweight actors and directors, but has yet to catch up with the reclusive Reeves, who, as always, is working away on his next art movie or blockbuster, like the upcoming Hanuman. "I keep hoping to bump into him. I want to talk to him about our apartment."
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