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LOS ANGELES - For 10 years, "7th Heaven" fans have watched Beverley Mitchell grow up on "7th Heaven," following the now-24-year-old actress as her Lucy Camden went to school, fell in and out of love, got married and gave birth.
How are those fans going to feel this weekend when Mitchell's "Saw II" role finds her fighting for her life in a twisted game devised by the serial killer Jigsaw?
"It's hard, because I do have a responsibility to my 7th Heaven' fans and I do need to be cautious of the way I promoteSaw II,' because it's not appropriate for a lot of my fans," the ever-chipper Mitchell admits. "A lot of my young fans are like 5 years old. They don't want to go see their favorite Lucy croak."
Despite the tradition for the Camden kids to rush off and make slasher films in their hiatus, Mitchell is getting the impression that her detour to the dark side may be a bit extreme for some of her "7th Heaven" co-stars.
"It's so funny. They're not all jumping on my bandwagon," she laughs. "Only a few of them are excited to see it. Everybody else is like, Hmmm.' Hello. Catherine Hicks was inChild's Play.' And then Jessie (Biel) was in Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and Barry (Watson) was inBoogeyman.' So I'm like, `Hi, jump on the wagon.'"
In "Saw II," the quickly produced sequel to last October's surprise hit, Mitchell plays Laura, one of a number of mysterious strangers stuck breathing a potentially deadly toxin in a booby-trapped house. She sums up the similarities between her two characters in terms of sheer lachrymosity, noting, "Lucy cries a lot and Laura cries a lot."
"She's definitely the most vulnerable," she says. "She's the one that you really relate to and the one that really is fearful and you really see what's going on in the house through her, because everybody else has this front and everybody else is just acting like it's no big deal. She knows that it's the end and she's doing her best to stay together."
It isn't giving away very much about the movie to make the bold declaration that the biggest difference between Lucy and Laura is that no member of the Camden family has ever spent quite so much time coughing up blood (though a special TB-themed episode may be planned for sweeps). But even as a horror scream queen, Mitchell has certain content restrictions that guide her career.
"There are certain magazines that you will never see on," she promises. "I'm not gonna go take my clothes off. That's just not who I am and it's not what my career is about and I don't think it's necessary. If I can't make it because my acting's not good enough, then that's the reason."
Based on the success of the original film and an advantageous pre-Halloween release, "Saw II" is expected to be a strong performer at the box office this weekend. Even a $30 million opening weekend, though, won't cause Mitchell to go the way of so many young actors and ditch the show that made her career.
"I don't work that way," she swears. "I'm so grateful for what 7th Heaven' has given me.7th Heaven' has been a launching pad. It's my dream come true. It's something that every actor can only dream about and hardly ever gets - a show that runs for 10 years and is still successful. I'd hope to stay with the show as long as necessary and as long as I feel right in my heart. Just because one movie takes off doesn't mean my next one will."
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(c) 2005, Zap2it.com. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
