Girl meets acting world

Paul Saitowitz

While most kids her age were dealing with the ups and down of being

popular in school, Marguerite Moreau was busy dealing with Savages.

First Fred in “The Wonder Years” and later Ben in “Boy Meets World.”

She also starred in early-’90s preteen staples “Blossom,” “The

Mighty Ducks” and “Free Willy” -- this was all before graduating from

Newport Harbor High School in 1995.

For the soft-spoken, affable Moreau, 26, growing up in Newport

Beach and working as a burgeoning child star went rather smoothly.

“No one down there really cared if I was on TV or not,” she said.

“There’s better things to do in Newport ... like going to the beach,

than worrying about stuff like that.”

After high school Moreau went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie,

N.Y., where she majored in political science, but acting always

remained on the forefront. She had bit parts in “Wag the Dog,” and

“The Mighty Joe Young” during her college days.

“I did a lot of plays and I think I really grew as an actor during

that time,” she said.

Moreau, now an L.A. resident, is going back the beach of sorts in

“Off the Lip,” an independent film hailing itself as the “Spinal Tap”

of surfing and directed by Robert Mickelson.

“They asked me if I wanted to go to Hawaii for a couple of weeks

and surf and make a movie, so it wasn’t a very hard decision,” she

said.

Although it was shot in 2000, the film is set to open all over

Southern California this weekend.

Since “Off the Lip,” Moreau has had parts in “Wet Hot American

Summer,” “Queen of the Damned,” “Easy” and “Runaway Jury,” which

featured the venerable Gene Hackman.

“It was pretty amazing to be doing a scene with someone who is so

well known and respected,” she said. “He taught me a lot about poise

and grace ... it was incredible to be with someone who you grew up

watching and then see them as a peer.”

The benefits of life as a working actor are not lost on Moreau,

who was born in Riverside and lived in Bakersfield before coming to

Newport Beach.

“It’s the only job I’ve ever had, and this opportunity is a dream

situation,” she said. “I get to make mistakes while working as an

actor rather than trying to be an actor.”

She will play Susan “Sexy Sadie” Atkins on the TV movie “Helter

Skelter,” set to air on May 16. The film is an adaptation of Vincent

Bugliosi’s novel on the Manson Family murders.

“That was a really great experience because I was in contact with

Vincent a lot during the filming and I was able to ask him about when

he interviewed Sadie, and how she was,” she said. “It was great to

really get in depth with the research.”

Moreau also just finished filming a pilot for “ABC” called “Doing

It,” which was made by the folks behind cult-hit “Freaks and Geeks.”

“Right now I’m just waiting to see if that pilot gets picked up,

and we’ll see which other projects head my way.”