Issue Date: March 10, 2002
Q: Watching MTV's "Total Request Live," I've recently seen a lot of Quddus filling in for Carson Daly. How did Quddus get his name?
Cindy Youssef, Greenville, S.C.
"My mama gave it to me," says the 21-year-old Canadian, who was born Benjamin Quddus (kuh-DEUCE) Philippe to a Dutch mother and Haitian father. "Quddus," the name of a Baha'i prophet, is Arabic and Persian for "the most holy." To the former model, though, it means "man of peace." The name "represents me as a person. I'm a real peaceful guy." "TRL" focuses on mainstream pop, rock and hip-hop, but Quddus (whose friends call him Q) also likes Billie Holiday and Jimi Hendrix. Don't expect the VJ to be satisfied just filling in for Daly: He has his own occasional stints as a DJ and plans to release a poetry CD this spring.
Q: I loved "Band of Brothers!" Tell me more about actor Damian Lewis.
Keri Pettenger, Leicester, N.C.
For starters, he loves oatmeal raisin cookies and grew up singing Elvis songs in front of a mirror. He's an alum of Eton (where princes William and Harry have studied) and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and he dates a British broadcast journalist. That's right -- Lewis, 31, who won rave reviews as Lt. Richard Winters, the tough, stoic American in HBO's World War II miniseries, is English. And although the Londoner has been called a "young Steve McQueen" and Hollywood's "next big thing," he's in no rush. He even turned down a role in "Black Hawk Down" because he "couldn't face being a soldier again." Instead, he'll star in an adaptation of "The Forsyte Saga," to air on PBS this fall. "I want the glitz and glamour of the film industry," he explains, "but some of the best-quality writing is in TV." He makes exceptions for best-selling authors: Lewis is now filming a Stephen King movie, "Dreamcatcher," in Canada.
 Complete interview with Damian Lewis of "Band of Brothers."
Q: I'm a big fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and I always look forward to James Marsters' performance as the vampire Spike. What's his story?
Diane Urban, Jackson, N.J.
Kicked out of Juilliard in the '80s -- he was told he "couldn't act his way out of a paper bag" -- Marsters, 39, ultimately found success. The turning point came when he left New York, where he lived in an apartment without glass in the windows ("In the winters, I'd cover them with newspaper," he says) and couldn't land off-Broadway roles ("I found more work bartending than acting"). He headed to Chicago, renowned for its theater scene, and fared better. He credits the Windy City with catapulting his career with roles in Goodman Theatre's production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Bailiwick Repertory's six-hour "Incorruptible." A few years later, he moved to Los Angeles and landed the role of Spike, Buffy's main squeeze now. But don't be fooled by that English accent or attitude. Marsters is as American as apple pie, hailing from the logging town of Greenville, Calif. He's single, he quit smoking 1 1/2 years ago (but still wears the patch and smokes herbal cigs as Spike), and he adores action figures: "I always carry around a Spider-Man."
Q: What can you tell me about adorable Austin Majors, who plays Dennis Franz's son on "NYPD Blue"?
LeeAnn Strife, Rome, N.Y.
Austin was just 3 when he took on the difficult role of Theo, Andy Sipowicz's leukemia-stricken son. But the young actor already understood illness; mom Karrie is a nurse. Acting was the natural course for Austin, whose "personality has always been out there," Karrie says. Even as a baby, "If I'd take him to the store, a crowd would gather because he'd do things like raise his eyebrows at girls and make them laugh." Friends urged Karrie to let her son start auditioning, and Austin, now 6, landed "Blue" within a month. Privacy is a concern, but thanks to the show's late hour, Austin's school friends in Los Angeles don't know he's an actor. They may soon: He's the voice of young Jim Hawkins in Disney's "Treasure Planet," due next fall.
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BIRTHDAYS
March 10: Sharon Stone, 44; Chuck Norris, 62.
March 11: Thora Birch, 20;
Alex Kingston, 39;
Sam Donaldson, 68.
March 12: John Andretti, 39;
Courtney B. Vance, 42;
Liza Minnelli, 56; Al Jarreau, 62.
March 13: Annabeth Gish, 31;
Adam Clayton, 42;
William H. Macy, 52.
March 14: Taylor Hanson, 19;
Chris Klein, 23;
Billy Crystal, 55;
Michael Caine, 69;
Quincy Jones, 69.
March 15: Mark McGrath, 34;
Sly Stone, 59;
Judd Hirsch, 67.
March 16: Lauren Graham, 35;
Erik Estrada, 53;
Jerry Lewis, 76.
Contributing: Tameka Hicks, Evelyn Poitevent, Frappa Stout, Jeanne Wright
Also this week:
Complete interview with Damian Lewis of "Band of Brothers."
Interview: Blair Underwood
Ask Lorrie Lynch a question about a celeb!
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