JOEL SPEAKS FOR DODGER -- AND HIMSELF: [THIRD Edition]

Abstract

NEW YORK - "When I'm in a recording studio, I'm 6 feet tall and I'm Cary Grant. You transcend yourself physically," says singer Billy Joel in a Park Avenue hotel restaurant. He resists being called an actor, even though he makes his screen debut -- or rather his voice does -- in "Oliver & Company," the new Disney animated version of Dickens' "Oliver Twist," with the characters as contemporary Manhattan cats and dogs. [Christie Joel] plays Oliver's mentor, the Artful Dodger, as a street-smart mutt. "When it gets brought down to an image for the music, I say, 'Nah, nah,' " Joel adds. "I'm not an actor. To me, acting is being on the stage in a theater."

NEW YORK - "When I'm in a recording studio, I'm 6 feet tall and I'm Cary Grant. You transcend yourself physically," says singer Billy Joel in a Park Avenue hotel restaurant. He resists being called an actor, even though he makes his screen debut -- or rather his voice does -- in "Oliver & Company," the new Disney animated version of Dickens' "Oliver Twist," with the characters as contemporary Manhattan cats and dogs. Joel plays Oliver's mentor, the Artful Dodger, as a street-smart mutt. "When it gets brought down to an image for the music, I say, 'Nah, nah,' " Joel adds. "I'm not an actor. To me, acting is being on the stage in a theater."

But Joel had what Disney wanted; he can sing, and he sounds like he comes from the Bronx. The recording star, 39, got the job by auditioning over the phone, says "Oliver & Company" director George Scribner, a native of Panama and an Emerson College alumnus. "We sent him the dialogue and he got on the phone and read it, while I read the part of Oliver. It worked out great. He could really act, and as he got into the part he defined the character and we started rewriting for him." Unlike regular films, where voiceovers and soundtracks are dubbed after the filming, the animation began with the voices. "Literally, animation doesn't begin until those voice tracks are down," says Disney studio boss Jeffrey Katzenberg.

"I always thought the Artful Dodger was cool," Joel says. "My grandfather was English, so I read all the Dickens novels. He would test me. But for the film, I used Leo Gorcey of The Dead End Kids. He was the epitome of a tough kid who deep down was a nice guy. The tough front was a protective cover so things don't get to him. That's how New Yorkers are. It got easier to get into character with each recording session. Some of the lines we'd do 3 or 4 times. George had a Los Angeles vision of New York, a very romanticized vision. But he was a stickler. He wanted it to sound like New York, and be accurate. He'd say, 'Pretend like you're between Broadway and Sixth Avenue,' and I'd say, 'Nah, nah. We're between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.'

"Doing this wasn't like being an actor. It was more like recording. For me to just waltz into a role with so many struggling kids going to acting classes, really learning it, I wouldn't feel comfortable. I was supposed to audition for Sergio Leone a few years ago for his movie 'Once Upon a Time in America.' He wanted me to do one of the Jewish gangsters. I thought, 'Gee, I could be in a movie with Robert De Niro and Jimmy Woods.' But I got scared. I didn't go. This project took a year and a half, two years, including a time out for the Russian tour I was on last year. Just to be American is sort of to be a pop star there. I got hugged a lot on the street. I don't think people knew who I was. They're really warm people there. And they're trying to get the cultural thing going. They even know 'Leave It to Beaver' there. They know all our shows.

"The thing with this movie was that if I do it well enough and it's a Disney classic, I could last as long as that dog, longer than my recordings. Those Disney characters were real to me when I was a kid. I saw 'Pinocchio,' 'Bambi.' They scared the hell out of me. When the voice said, 'Man entered the forest,' even my mother broke down completely. This time, I wanted to be a hero to my own 3-year-old daughter. Christie Joel's wife, fashion model Christie Brinkley and I named her Alexi Rae. The first time I saw this movie in a theater and heard my voice, I was embarrassed. I got a little flushed. Christie said, 'That dog's face looks like your face. I told you you could act.' My daughter said, 'Daddy's a nice doggie. He took care of the pussy cat.' My daughter knew it was me. That was the best feedback of all."

JCARR ;11/15 NKELLY;11/18,15:58 JOEL

Caption: PHOTO

1. Billy Joel lends his voice to . . .

2. . . . city canine Dodger.

Illustration

PHOTO