Diana Ross' teen could be the next big thing

In the movie "ATL," someone told the character Ant, "You tell me. You're the one that's shinin'."
The same could be said of the acting career of Evan Ross, who made his film debut as Ant.

This is a big year for 18-year-old Ross. Earlier this month, he co-starred in the HBO film "Life Support" with Queen Latifah.

And on Friday, his latest project, "Pride," opens to tell the true story of a black swim team in Philadelphia. Ross plays the stuttering, shy Reggie, who comes up with the bright idea to form the team.

"Things are good; heading in the right direction," says Ross in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles. "I'm so passionate about what I'm doing. My focus is in the right place."

In fact, Ross -- the youngest son of Detroit native Diana Ross -- is so focused on acting that he says his mother worries about him constantly. When he's home, he resides with her. Like most mothers, the Motown diva gets concerned about whether her baby is eating properly and getting enough rest when he's on location.

"My mom tells me, 'Don't get overtired, and don't get yourself sick."
Of course, the teen always listens to his mother, but on this point, the actor, singer and dancer says he's taking advice from Terrance Howard, his "Pride" co-star: "Let me get through the door, and then I'll sleep."

"Terrance said something like that. I said to him, 'You've got back-to-back films, and you're shooting two at the same time.' He said, 'Until I get comfortable, I'm going to work and work and work until I canpass out for a minute.'

"There are no breaks," Ross says. "There is nothing given to you, even when you think there is. You take things in your own hands; that's how things get done."

It's that attitude that has Ross rising so fast in his career, says Nelson George, pop culture critic and director of "Life Support."

"It always sounds corny when people say somebody is going to be a big star, but Evan Ross is going to be a big star. When I first saw him in 'ATL,' I was like, 'Who is that kid?' "

Ross is heading straight for the top because he possesses the right attitude, work ethic and talent, George says.

"He's got all the elements. He's got vulnerability, and he's got lookability," George explains. "He's got acting chops. He can project pain and anger. He's really committed to be a great actor. He gets in there, he's super prepared and he's thought the character through very well.

"Yeah, he's Diana Ross' son, but that's not a big part of why you hire him. You feel like he's totally committed to what he's doing. There's none of that rich kid (stuff). None of that."

Lately, Ross has been filming "Life is Hot in Crack Town" and "Brooklyn to Manhattan." Soon, he will begin work on "Burning Sands." Those films are set for release next year.

He says acting doesn't look like it, but it's really hard work. He says the work also can take a toll on his emotions.

In "Life Support," he played Omari, a gay young man who was born HIV-positive. His biological sister, Tracee Ellis Ross, played his sister in the film, and that, he says, was especially emotional for him.

"I have a lot of emotions," he says. "A lot of people don't know this. A lot about people don't know about my struggles, and that's not important for them to know."

One of his struggles, he says, was spending time with street kids to learn about them for his upcoming movie "Gardens of the Night," his third 2007 release.

In the film, he plays 17-year-old Donnie, who is among a group of children who were abducted into a prostitution ring. They escape but continue having sex for food and cigarettes while living on the street.

"It was hard sitting in that room and listening to them and being around them for the day," Ross says. "It puts so much pressure on your heart."

While true love hasn't happened for Ross yet, he has been romantically linked to Lindsay Lohan. And no Hollywood actor can be taken seriously as a star until he's romantically linked to Lohan, quips Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University.

On a more serious note, though, Thompson has paid close attention to Ross' career, and rattles off information about him effortlessly.

"Every now and then, you see someone and you think you are watching them at the very beginning of a big career," he says. "I watched every episode of 'St. Elsewhere.' It was amazing how little that show used Denzel Washington, and I never got that sense watching him that here is a really big star. I didn't get it when I watched Jim Carrey in the sitcom 'Duck Factory.'

"Evan Ross is 18 years old, and you can see this guy could really be a big star. … If I was asked to invest in the futures market of stars, he would be a good bet."

Ross says he never thinks about whether he will be a star. He is, however, beginning to realize his heritage as the son of singing and acting star Diana Ross.

"I don't mind being in such an incredible shadow," he says. "More and more, I've been watching her career and learning about her career in the Supremes. She's so incredible, and she's done such amazing things. I'm in awe and I'm inspired by the things she's done. I saw a clip of her playing a schizophrenic, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh! I'll work harder.' "

When he's not working, he's just working on being himself.
In free moments, he says he enjoys shopping and partying. He says he's already getting flak for wearing his hair long, a deviation from his close-cropped look in "ATL."

With that and the rumors about his $100,000 birthday shopping spree, which he says aren't true, he's found people want you to be who they want you to be, and he has empathy for young Hollywood stars such as Britney Spears and Lohan.

"I hope to affect people," Ross says, "and I want to keep doing things differently. I'm not trying to look like everybody else. I'm wearing my hair long, and I'm comfortable being different, being new. You don't have to be one way, look one way. You can go against the grain. That's what I'm doing."