Vincent Ventresca has a special place in his heart for IU. The actor graduated in 1989 with a degree in education, but theater was his second concentration and first love. After graduation, Ventresca set out to make his mark on the entertainment industry.\nIn 1994, he received his big break when he won a small part in the CBS made-for-television movie "Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills." That project led to a slew of other acting ventures including the NBC miniseries "Degree of Guilt" in 1995. He also joined the casts of the short-lived TV series "Medicine Ball" on Fox and "Boston Common" on NBC. Both series went off the air after one season. In 1997, Ventresca made his film debut playing Mira Sorvino's love interest in "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."\nShortly after, he returned to television in two more TV series: "Prey" for ABC and "Maggie Winters" for CBS, both of which were canceled. In addition, Ventresca has guest-starred twice on "Friends" as Fun Bobby and appeared in the independent films "Macarena," "Can't Stop Dancing," "The Learning Curve," "Love & Sex," "This Space Between Us" and "Madison," which was filmed in Madison, Ind.\nNow 34, the Indianapolis native portrays the title character in the TV series "The Invisible Man" 9 p.m. Fridays on the Science Fiction Network. Recently, Ventresca discussed the impact that his years at IU have had on him, his working experiences with big-name stars and his take on the Bob Knight firing.
Q: Which professors had a major impact on you?\nA: Howard Jensen, Dale McFadden and George Pinney. They were the first ones to give me some concrete tools to really figure out how to act. I think about these guys to this day. When Howard was directing, he would let you run through your scenes and he would scribble down notes and then hand them out. I had this heavy speech for a Greek tragedy, he said: "Good. You've got it, now play it." Howard taught me the secret of acting is to learn your lines so you can forget about your lines.
Q: What was it like to work with Mira Sorvino?\nA: I think I got that job when she had just been Oscar-nominated for "Mighty Aphrodite," and I chose not to go see that movie simply because when you see people and they're 25 feet tall in a movie theater, it sort of creates this larger-than-life personality. You can feel intimidated. Because I had never seen her in anything, she was just a really cool girl who, from what I could tell, was a really good actress. We rehearsed that movie like a play for about two weeks before we started shooting, which is really unusual. We got along great, and it's hard because we became really good friends, but the thing that stinks about being an actor is that you get really close to these people, and then the movie's over and you never see them again. I learned a lot from her. She works really hard, and that's why she's good.
Q: Did you enjoy your experiences working alongside the cast of "Friends"?\nA: Yes. When I made my first guest appearance, the show wasn't what it was right away. It was gaining momentum. But the next year it was really weird because they were like the Beatles. The one commonality between Mira Sorvino and the "Friends" cast is the work ethic. They were all really cool to me, and the reason why the show works is because they trust each other, they can direct each other and they're honest with each other. That's the whole idea of ensemble acting, which is unusual in television because a lot of actors are very insecure people and don't like to take direction from a director, let alone their fellow actors.
Q: What was the spark that ignited your interest in acting?\nA: The movie "Hoosiers" was being cast in Bloomington, and my mom said I should audition. The guy who got the part I auditioned for was a guy who I went to high school with, so I initially saw the movie for that reason. But while I was watching it, I saw what Gene Hackman was doing as far as the craft of acting goes, and it opened the door in my head. I said to myself, "This is really cool." Then, I signed up for an acting I class at IU.
Q: What was your opinion regarding the termination of Bob Knight as men's basketball coach?\nA: It bothered me when a lot of players started transferring, but I don't necessarily think it's ever bad to make a change. People should move around a little bit. He's been there a long time. But ultimately, I think it's a good idea to change the coach. He's a great coach, and I think he'll do a good job somewhere else. I really wasn't bothered by the allegations, but I saw a lot of talent go through the program, and I didn't like to see them transfer.
Q: What is your most pleasurable memory from your years at IU?\nA: A lot of it has to do with acting. I remember I was taking an acting class and I remember watching those other actors. To this day, the best actors I've ever worked with are from IU. There were actors at IU who were as good as Mira Sorvino. There were so many great directors and actors that were so inspiring to me. It was a whole new world that was opened up to me. I've never been around so many talented people as I was at IU.
Q: If you were asked to deliver a speech at the IU commencement ceremony, what would you say to the new graduates sitting in the audience?\nA: Figure out what you want to do and do it your way because no one else is going to do it like you do it. The only advantage you have when you go out into the real world is that no one sees it like you see it.
