Christian Slater booking

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After a promising run of Broadway and big screen hits, Christian Slater fell from grace as another
Hollywood bad boy. We look at a man on a mission to ressurect his career and repuation. Christian
Slater was once the poster-boy pinup on many a teen bedroom wall and his good looks and charm
have yet to fade. Notorious as a rebellious ‘bad boy’ – the type everyone can’t help but fall for – the
demons of his troubled early career have been overcome to make way for a highly respected and allround source of ongoing talent. Christian Michael Leonard Slater was born in New York on 18 August
1969 into an established showbiz family. Mother Mary Jo was a casting executive and father Michael
Hawkins was an actor – even his godfather, Michael Zaslow (who died in 1998) was an actor. Not
afraid to encourage their son into the world of fame at an early age, Slater was sent to a special
performance school and later attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and
Performing Arts. He took to acting like a fish to water and it wasn’t long before auditions became as
common for him as an after-school trip to the local youth club for ‘normal’ kids. As a child actor, Slater
was given a sneaky head start thanks to his parents’ influence and his mother cast him in his first ever
role aged eight in the TV soap ‘One Life to Live’ (1976). Soon the lure of the stage beckoned and a
year later he took to the boards in ‘The Music Man’ (1980) alongside Dick Van Dyke.
From TV soaps to the stage, the next logical step in Slater’s young career would be the big screen and
in 1985 he starred in his first film, ‘The Legend of Billie Jean’. Success was not blazoned across his
CV yet though, especially after taking a role in the Broadway run of ‘Merlin’, which went down in the
Hollywood history books as one of the most expensive stage bombs, ever. Luckily, all was not lost and
it was a virtually speech-free part alongside Sean Connery in ‘The Name of the Rose’ (1986) that
finally garnered Slater some critical credit. Real A-list fame didn’t arrive for a further four years though
and in the meantime he made do with TV roles, low-budget flicks and having to wait in the queue at
nightclubs like everyone else – until ‘Heathers’ in 1989. ‘Heathers’ was billed as the teen film of the late
80s and it launched the careers of several hotshot actors, such as Winona Ryder and, of course,
Slater. Playing the role of an out of control teen psychopath, his manic performance was acclaimed
internationally and some critics even made the welcome comparison to the talent of Jack Nicholson.
Casting directors clearly knew they were onto a good thing and soon the offers to play yet more
troubled youths came flooding in. It looked as though Slater would fall victim to typecasting when he
appeared as another rebellious teen in ‘Pump Up The Volume’ (1990) and a wild gunman in ‘Young
Guns II’ (1990) with Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland. They say life mirrors art and sadly this
came true for Slater. Using his new-found celebrity status to full advantage, it wasn’t long before his
personal life became as wayward as his on-screen roles. Regular brushes with the law were part of
the norm and in 1989 he was chased by Hollywood police in his car before drunkenly crashing into a
telephone pole, trying to escape, and subsequently kicking an officer. He was later charged for drink
driving and assault. Blessed with looks from the handsome department, Slater’s media exposure
meant that he never had to go home alone and the studio bigwigs were more than aware of this fact.
Taking a chance on his questionable after-hours affairs and alcohol dependency, he was cast as the
dashing Will Scarlett in the big-film remake of ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ (1991). The film was a
huge worldwide success and Slater had officially secured the big time. He also acknowledged his
mother’s efforts in helping him achieve success by asking her to cast him in ‘Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country’ (1991). Being a big Trekkie himself, his uneven eyebrows are the amusing
result of shaving them off a child in homage to Spock and them never growing back fully.
Enjoying his mainstream success, he attempted to move away from the typical teen roles seemingly
cut out especially for him. He made 1993 the year of romantic leads opposite Marisa Tomei in
‘Untamed Heart’ and was the centre of affection for Patricia Arquette in ‘True Romance’. More
tragically, the part as the interviewer in ‘Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles’ (1994)
came about after his friend River Phoenix (who originally had the role) died. Slater subsequently
donated his earnings from the film to Phoenix’s favourite charities. Both ‘True Romance’ and ‘Interview
with the Vampire’ saw Slater share screen time with some of the biggest stars: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise,