Being a heart-throb just ‘part of the job’

Press, 14 October 1986, Page 11

Being a heart-throb just ‘part of the job’

Kirk Cameron, who plays Mike Seaver in tonight’s comedy on One “Growing Pains,” declares he is determined to be a humble heart-throb.

Being known as a heartthrob is the dubious honour bestowed on the young actor who gets around 10,000 letters a month, mostly from young girls who thinks he is so cute they would "die for him.”

• “The mail is just part of my job,” says Kirk. “I don’t look at it and say 'Wow, people must really like me.’ I enjoy that people write, but I don’t let it go to my head.”

From the way Kirk talks, very little of his high-profile showbusiness existence affects him. "It’s just something to do,” he insists. “Some kids

have a job at McDonald’s I have a job at Warner Brothers.”

On top of his showbusiness success Kirk is a mostly “A” student who likes maths and science best.

“I hate studying,” he says, sounding much like his TV character. “I guess I just have a natural aptitude for school.” His interest in science is also evident in his choice of pets. He has two boa constrictors —

Springsteen and Glenn — and a Burmese python named Baby Buck. They are kept apart from his pet tarantula by glass cages.

"I’ve always liked reptiles. People who are afraid of snakes just don’t know anything about them. The movies always

make them out to be bad.”

As for his “work,” — his acting — Kirk says Mike Seaver is a “fun guy to play.” “He always has a way out of everything. I’m sure he could improve on his grades, but I don’t want to see that happen. “I really don’t think about- what makes him tick that much.

“I read the script, come to work, do the part, and go home.”