Yasmine Bleeth
Entertainment Weekly
Article 04

NEVER KNOWN FOR rushing anywhere, Hollywood's acting corps has been reluctant to set up a beachhead on the burgeoning cyberstage. Still, a brave few have embraced the unknown, including Baywatch's brunet Yasmine Bleeth, who plays a postapocalyptic bounty hunter in Maximum Surge, a CD-ROM game due in March from Digital Pictures. Here, the 27-year-old actress offers a peek into the nascent world of interactive acting.

How did this project differ from film and TV?

You do one scene four or five different times with just slight differences. It gets a little monotonous, to tell the truth. [Live-action CD-ROMs] are still relatively new, and the scripts aren't really geared toward actors yet. It's still predominantly a game.

What was the biggest lesson you learned?

Oh, God, a lot of patience. It's just so technical. As an actor you're used to being the focus of attention. In this, the actor is on the third rung of the ladder. First, it's the time allotted for the scene. Second, it's what's going on in the game, and then maybe the actor and the dialogue.

How do you think multimedia and the digital revolution will affect Hollywood?

That's why I wanted to do it, to get in when it was Ūrst starting. I've heard all sorts of rumors, that with every big feature they're going to make a CD-ROM. It's either going to be the wave of the future or just the flavor of the month.

What's the buzz on CD-ROM work in acting circles?

Everybody says to me, and the articles I've read say, that most actors who do CD-ROMs are sort of--how do you put this delicately? For example, Walter Koenig did my CD-ROM too. They say a lot of the actors were famous but aren't working as much now. I don't know if there's a stigma attached to it. Tia Carrere did one. I can't imagine that a real Hollywooder would be excited about it, because I don't think it's geared toward actors yet.