Summer 98 Volume III Issue 3

Jessica Steen loves her day job. The talented, attractive actress who shared the small screen with handsome Antonio Sabato, Jr. in the short-lived series "Earth 2" and gave funnyman Michael Richards his first screen kiss in the film Trial & Error, stars next in the much-hyped summer blockbuster Armageddon, where she gamely co-pilots a space shuttle laden with the testosterone of Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Ben Affleck. SMOKE caught up with the energetic, Canadian-born actress, whose other credits includes the series "Homefront" and episodes of "ER" and "Touched By an Angel," at home in Los Angeles, for a chat about Armageddon, her obsession with video cameras, and fire twirling.

It's the biggest thing that I've ever seen or been a part of. It's definitely the biggest feature that Disney has ever made. That alone tells you how big this thing is.

Yep, and it was glorious! I felt very privileged to be surrounded by such an array of masculinity. I play Jennifer Watts, who has to train these roughnecks and then get them onto the asteroid. Once we land, because of the way we land, I have to get the ship up and running again so that when the time comes we can actually get home in one piece.

The producers had NASA technicians on set whenever possible. When we were on location in Houston and Florida, at Cape Canaveral, we were surrounded by astronauts and we got to pick their brains at will, which was incredibly helpful. I didn't get as much time to prepare as most of the other people in the film, as I got hired last minute. I auditioned for a second time on a Monday, got the job on Tuesday, and signed the contract on Wednesday On Thursday I was fitted for my suit, and on Friday I was at the helm of the shuttle. I really had to rely on everyone I could, whether it was the other actors or whatever professional they brought to the set.

No, not quite. We did get to go nose-to-nose with the nose cone of a shuttle, though. We were right up there in the gantry. We got into the "white room," which is the anterior to the shuttle. It's the last chamber you enter before you actually step into a shuttle. They let us take a peek in there. I'm a video freak and they were generous enough to stick my camera into the shuttle and shoot some footage for me. It was a real shuttle they were prepping for an upcoming mission.

Oh man, that's a tough one. Bruce, Billy Bob, or Ben? Oh, my God. Aaaah ... They're all funny. They're all charismatic.

If I were to be stuck eternally in space, I guess that I'd have to take the youngest, most malleable man. That would be Ben, in this case, wouldn't it?

Acting wasn't really a conscious decision for me. It was always part of my life, and then I started making a living at it. It went from being a hobby to a job. I don't think I could do anything else.

Kate Hepburn. In the days when she was doing films like The Philadelphia Story she was just all sass and smarts. For the time, she really pushed the envelope.

You can't even begin to believe the reaction I still get from the fans of "Earth 2." I still get tons of mail about the show, about my character (a genetically engineered doctor) The Internet is alive with the fans of "Earth 2" talking to each other, trying to get someone to green-light a reunion movie. It's remarkable. I had a great time doing the show and we were all sorry to see it end.

I try to engage in as much stuff as I possibly can. I love to coordinate activities for myself and my friends. I love to mix and match my friends and new acquaintances. I'm starting to get into drumming and fire twirlin'.

Thank you. I'm also into yoga and meditation, and I'm what you'd have to call a video freak. I just like to dabble and get into everything I can.

I document every little thing, to a painful degree. I take my camera and drive everyone crazy. It's just constant updating on life; on situations, babies, big moments and little moments. It's amazing what you can capture if you always have a camera ready for action.