SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
ctor Joey Slotnick is not
worried about Y2K in his
household.
Besides owning an Apple
computer touted to be problem-free as
1999 changes to 2000, he has a special
respect for the Apple organization after
portraying co-founder Steve Wozniak
(nickname Woz) in the made-for-TV
movie Pirates of Silicon Valley.
The docudrama, which showcases
the race between rivals Apple
Computers and Microsoft for techno-
logical dominance in the computer
industry, airs 8 p.m. Sunday, June 20,
on TNT. Noah Wyle portrays Steve
Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall takes
the role of Bill Gates.
"I think the story plays out well for
Jobs and Woz, two young kids kind of
following their dream and what they
believed to be a good idea while big
corporations doubted them," says
Slotnick. The two met while working
at Hewlett-Packard and created the
Apple I in Jobs' parents' garage in
Silicon Valley in 1976.
"I did tons of research, reading
about all the books I could find on the
beginning of Apple and the beginning
of the computer industry. I watched
interviews and saw documentaries. I
was very prepared. I never played a
real person before so it was real inter-
esting to do that research," says
Slotnick, last seen in the film comedy
Blast From the Past alongside Brendan
Fraser and Alicia Silverstone.
Slotnick, who owned an Apple
computer long before being cast in the
movie, enjoys using it for e-mail and
playing games. He did not speak with
Wozniak, the person ultimately behind
all that fun, because the production
team decided their interaction might
compromise the focus established by
writer-director Marryn Burke.
"[Woz] was just a shy young guy
who figured people might talk to him
if he built these computers. I hope the
audience will realize that what has
changed our universe pretty much was
started with a handful of young peo-
ple," says the actor, who grew up in
Chicago. "It's an American dream story,
and I guess [it shows that] if you're a
young person interested in electronics
and the media, you should follow your
instincts and your heart and not worry
about what big business says."
Slotnick knows all about following
dreams in the entertainment business.
"I started out in children's theater
and did theater throughout high
6/18
1999
94 Detroit Jewish News
Computer
rs
In TNT's "Pirates of Silicon Valley," Joey Slotnick
portrays Steve Wozniak, co-founder with Steve Jobs
of Apple Computers. The TV drama documents
their rivalry with Bill Gates and Microsoft.
school," he recalls.
"Toward the end of
my freshman year in
high school, I decid-
ed I wanted to be a
professional actor and
went to Southern
Methodist University
[in Dallas] to study
theater and get a lib-
eral arts education."
Moving back to
Chicago after gradua-
tion, Slotnick found
work with the
Lookinglass Theatre
Co. and other compa-
nies around town.
Top: Noah Wyle, left, as Steve
Jobs and Joey Slotnick, right, as
Steve Wosniak, co-founders o f
Apple Computers. Jobs an d
Wosniak created the Apple I
in Jobs' parents' garage.
Above: Anthony Michael Hall
portrays Bill Gates.
Soon, he moved to
California, secured an
agent and began audi-
tioning.
"When I started
doing The Single Guy
sitcom, that got me a
lot of exposure and
great experience,"
says Slotnick, 30, and
single himself. "Then
I started doing other
things and got
diverse roles.
Slotnick, who
had a part in the
independent feature
Dinner and Driving,
will appear in Idle Hands and Judas
Kiss and has voiced several characters
in the new animated TV series
Family Guy.
Previous film credits include Twister,
A League of Their Own and Since You've
Been Gone. His television credits
include guest roles on The Nanny,
Beverly Hills 90210 and Ellen.
"Woz was a more dramatic role
than the ones I've had in the past,"
says Slotnick, who, in contrast, also
tours as part of an improvisation
group, Slotnick, Katz and Lehr.
"He's very brilliant."
Although the Chicago native has
never been to Detroit, there is a strong
connection to the city. His grandfa-
ther, Al Moss, was an award-winning
newspaper photographer in the city
before moving on to Chicago.
According to Slotnick, his grandfather
was the first person to take pictures of <
Santa with kids and developed the
company Santagraph in the 1940s.
The actor's mother turned to her
Judaism for her personal interest and
teaches about the Holocaust for the
Shoah Foundation.
Working on his new film, The
Hollow Man, Slotnick is a student
again. He's learning about molecules
and making them disappear as he pre-
pares to portray a computer scientist in
a new take on The Invisible Man. The
movie stars Kevin Bacon and has a ten-
tative completion date in September.
"I started in the theater, so [the
stage] is one of the most satisfying
things I do," Slotnick says. "I like
bonding with the people and helping
with the sets and lighting when I'm
not acting. The performance any the-
ater audience sees is going to be differ-
ent from a performance another audi-
ence sees, and I love that aspect of it."
Slotnick does not mind studying to
prepare for a role.
"It's interesting to learn new kinds
of stuff when I get a chance," he says.
"When I'm not working, I like. to see <
movies, keep fit with hiking and bik-
ing, hang out with my friends, read
and take pictures. Maybe the interest
in pictures is from my grandfather. I'm
the _only actor in my family." II
Pirates of Silicon Valley premieres
8 p.m. Sunday, June 20, on
TNT. It encores 10 p.m. and
midnight June 20; 8 p.m.
Wednesday, June 23; 12:30 a.m.
Friday, June 25; 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 26; and 1 and 11
p.m. Sunday, June 27.