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Young Male Hollywood: Matt Schulze
(Jan. 2001) One of Eight Young Male Stars Making Their Mark in Hollywood, Matt Schulze had to "lift weights like crazy" to bulk up for his role in Universal's "The Fast and the Furious." He also had to grow a beard and dye his blond hair black. So much for his model good looks.

Schulze came to Hollywood nine years ago as a self-described "young, naive kid with about $13 in my pocket." He almost immediately got work in a Levi's commercial and then became a successful model in both the U.S. and Europe. "I did the whole deal -- Italy, Paris -- but that kind of hurt me for acting because if they see you as handsome then sometimes it's hard to be taken seriously," he says.

Schulze put his good looks on the line for "The Fast and the Furious," a film with "lots of speed, lots of action," about underground cops infiltrating a gang that robs trucks in order to finance their street racing. He did most of his own stunts, including riding on the hood of a semi traveling at 80 miles per hour.

But action hero isn't the only role he's playing. "I was out of my mind as kid, just nuts," he says. "I latched on to music because it was great place to hide. It was the only really happy place for me to be." He played the guitar and viola, attended classes at the Atlanta Institute of Music and taught music. He now writes songs and scores, and he gets to play guitar in this movie. "They put it in for me, which was really cool and means I get extra money!"

Currently "living in seclusion" and writing poems to an ex, Schulze is also a fan of writer Jack Kerouac. "I try to apply that sort of formula to the work I do -- the spontaneity, the stylized improvisation," he says.

"The Fast and the Furious." Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Matt Schulze. Directed by Rob Cohen. Written by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, John Pogue, David Ayer and Kario Salem. Produced by Doug Claybourne. A Universal release. Opens 3/23.