TORONTO -- In the emotional storm that is the Culkin family, there is the calm of Rory Culkin.

The youngest of the brood was sitting in a Four Seasons Hotel room yesterday doing his 11-year-old best to be forthcoming during the second press interview of his short life.

He's promoting the Kenneth Lonergan-directed You Can Count On Me. Culkin co-stars with Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo in the festival special presentation, which debuted Saturday.

RAW TALENT

Culkin plays Rudy, the eight-year-old son of a single parent (Linney) whose life as an upstate New York loan officer gets complicated when her drifter brother (Ruffalo) returns to borrow money.

The comedy-drama showcases the commendable talents of Linney, Ruffalo and Matthew Broderick, who has a cameo as an adulterous bank manager.

To say that Culkin holds his own is a credit to his raw talent. He merely shrugs off the compliment with a shy "thanks" as he slouches kid-like on a chair.

If he seems a little hesitant around a reporter, it might be for good reason. The media in New York, where the family resides, has been feeding off bad news Culkin events since his 19-year-old brother Macaulay hit it big with Home Alone a decade ago.

First, father Kit's outrageous behaviour and negotiating demands on behalf of Macaulay were routinely leaked to the press, then things went from controversial to gossipy when dad split from his wife, Patricia Brentrup, in a bitter 1995 divorce. Macaulay's subsequent marriage, then recent break-up, kept the Culkins in the news.

So did a December, 1998, fire in the Culkin family's Manhattan apartment -- home for mom Patricia, Rory and his siblings Kieran, Quinn and Dakota. The blaze might have led to the smoke inhalation deaths of four neighbours.

That was then. All Rory knows, for sure, is that he likes acting and wants to continue doing it despite the lousy process called auditioning.

Keep it simple is Rory's motto. "Listen to the director, and whatever he says, you do." He got that from his brothers Kieran, last seen in The Cider House Rules, and Macaulay, rehearsing in London for the stage play Madame Melville.

So the waiting on a movie set isn't Rory's favourite thing. "But when I finish a day of shooting," he admits, "I feel good about myself and I'm proud of what I've done."

As for the glaring lights of fame that just might arrive with the feature's theatrical release, he's not considering it. "I don't even think my friends will see the movie," says the Grade 6 student.

LIKES TO DRAW WIZARDS, DRAGONS

Besides, he's got other 11-year-old things to concern himself with. Like working on his drawing skills. "Yeah, I like to draw knights and wizards and dragons, and cats that stand on two feet." He adds quickly, "And, oh yeah, dragonslayers."

No sports, he's asked. Rory Culkin grimaces.

"I don't play anything," he says, "but my gym teacher's starting to make me play basketball."

Gym teachers are like that, whatever your last name is.


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