My chat w/Sean Faris of "Never Back Down"

Sean Faris admits that when it came time to attend the premiere of his film "Never Back Down" a few weeks back, he was a nervous wreck.

"Very anxious," he told me last week. "I had not seen the film before the premiere so I did not know fully what to expect. So it was just a matter of just going in there and checking it out and accepting it. But I gotta tell you, I was in grips the entire time watching the film."

In "Never," Sean plays Jake Tyler, a tough new kid in town in a film set in the world of Mixed Matial Arts. After suffering a humiliating beating, He seeks the mentoring of a veteran fighter (Hounsou), to train his mind and body for one final no-holds-barred fight.

"I'm so glad that I had Djimon Hounsou there to play opposite me," said Sean, who turns 25 today. "I watched 'Blood Diamond' and, of course, I'd watched 'Gladiator' years before and 'In America.' I hold Djimon in very high regard. I was nervous the first day of rehearsal and he has such a calm demeanor about him that he immediately puts you at ease and he let me know it was OK and from that day on, we did great things together."

The film generated some positive reviews has been in the top 10 the last two weekends and had grossed $16 million as of Sunday.
"It's the greatest experience I've had so far," Sean said of "Never." "I'm the most fortunate person I know because I get to live my dream."

After doing some modeling, Sean landed a small role in "Pearl Harbor" right out of high school. He went on to co-star in the short-lived television series "Life as we Know It" and "Reunion" before landing a parts in the Dennis Quaid-Renee Russo comedy "Yours, Mine and Ours" and the teen film "Sleepover."

He has now few completed films in the can including the independent film "Forever Strong" which is set for a limited release this fall and another movie called "Brooklyn Manhattan" which does not have a release date.
Sean is also producing the film "The Glass Eye" which he will also star in.

"I don't consider myself a movie star," he said. "I'm just an actor doing the best I can."