All Pop - Movies

Just because he's an actor doesn't mean Jason Biggs considers himself special. Heck, he's as normal and ordinary as apple pie.

On second thought, forget the pie analogy.

After all, Biggs, 22, played the high school senior who had an intimate moment with an apple pie in last summer's smash comedy American Pie.

"There's no question I'm going to be teased about the pie thing for years to come. I'm in Vancouver filming Saving Silverman and every time apple pie is on the menu, the catering people make a huge issue of it.

"They just call it the Biggs' special."

Biggs made his feature film debut as American Pie's sexually frustrated teenager, but he'd been acting professionally since he was 13.

"I starred opposite Judd Hirsch in (the Broadway play) Conversations With My Father for a little over a year. I started acting when I was six by getting a Nickelodeon commercial."

When he turned 20, Biggs moved to L.A. and began auditioning for films. Less than a year later, he was cast as Eugene Levy's son in American Pie.

He was 25 lb. heavier when he shot Pie.

"When I moved to L.A., I got really lazy and packed on the pounds quickly. It worked for American Pie. I was picked partly because I was chunky."

Biggs insists he didn't go on a crash diet to slim down.

"I was so excited about the success of American Pie that I got into enjoying life. I started mountain biking and running. The weight just peeled off."

The newly svelte Biggs was quickly cast as Freddie Prinze Jr.'s hormonally charged roommate in Boys & Girls. The comedy was a box-office disappointment.

"The fact that Boys & Girls tanked is Freddie's problem. If the same thing happens to Loser, I'll have to shoulder the responsibility."

The two films share more than Biggs' involvement. Both are about socially inept men who fall in love with free-spirited, sexually liberated women whom they meet in one of their college classes.

Biggs filmed the movies almost simultaneously.

"I didn't get them mixed up. For me, Boys & Girls required much more physical comedy. Loser is a subtle comedy with a more dramatic side to it."

Biggs got a real taste of drama when he filmed Prozac Nation earlier this year.

"I play Christina Ricci's boyfriend. It's a very dark, heavy film. It's the kind of role I needed to show I can do more than comedy."

In Loser, Biggs plays Paul Tannek, a small-town boy who gets a scholarship to college. He's a fish out of water and an easy target for the cruel taunting and manipulation of his three dorm roommates.

"I could identify with Paul's predicament.

"Because I was in a popular national commercial I got picked on in grad school. Several of my classmates pretended it wasn't cool to be an actor. I realize now they were just jealous, but it hurt back then."

Biggs enrolled in New York University for a year before he headed to L.A.

"I was not comfortable at all at NYU. I was still living at home and commuting. I was so lonely. I had so few friends. The whole experience was daunting.

"I definitely drew on those memories to play Paul."

Biggs certainly doesn't feel like an outsider these days.

"American Pie has opened so many windows of opportunity for me. I can be picky about the films I do and it's given me a great circle of friends."

He is dating a girl he met at a friend's birthday party earlier this year.

"She's not an actress, so it's not fair to give out her name, but the relationship is helping to keep me grounded."

Jason hits the Biggs time