'Bedroom' eyes William Mapother

Though not up for Oscar, star is happy

William Mapother says his character Richard Strout from "In the Bedroom" is the kind that gets under people's skin.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Oscar jitters are growing by the hour, studio campaign controversies are flaring up on schedule, and Academy Award predictions are becoming harder and harder to come by. But somewhere in all this movie madness, one actor is keeping his cool, knowing he's already one of the biggest winners in the mix.

And William Mapother is not even nominated.

"I'm thrilled," says the unusually named actor of his breakout role as the violent ex-husband in director Todd Field's dark family drama, "In the Bedroom."

If Mapother's surname sounds familiar, chances are you're an entertainment trivia buff. The name also belongs to one Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, an actor better known to movie audiences worldwide as Tom Cruise.

"We turned to each other for protection," says the 36-year-old Mapother, a Louisville, Kentucky, native, of childhood days with his famous first cousin, like him the only boy in a family full of girls.

Good playing bad

Cruise and "Bedroom" director Field acted together in the late Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut." When Mapother and Field met at a party, they talked about working together. More than a year later, Field offered a flabbergasted Mapother the role of "In the Bedroom's" bad boy, Richard Strout -- but Mapother insisted on auditioning for the part.

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Mapother admits to an initial case of nerves over the prospect of acting alongside Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl and Tomei in this ensemble piece dealing with love, jealousy, rage and revenge.

But he says the better-known cast members "put me very much at ease."

Spacek and Wilkinson are the Fowlers, parents of a college-bound young man (Stahl) who winds up involved with an older divorced mother, played by Tomei. Spacek, Wilkinson and Tomei have all received Oscar nominations. Spacek won the Golden Globe for best actress in January, and Tomei picked up a best supporting actress award at Showest in March.

Mapother's character eventually becomes the film's villain. To reveal any more would ruin the movie for those who don't know the tragic direction this love triangle takes.

Suffice it to say, the up-and-coming Mapother has found out how very good it is to play very bad on the big screen.

"I had no idea how the film would come together," he says. "Even when I saw the film for the first time, I had no idea how it would be received because sometimes good films don't catch on with audiences."

'People just forget that he's acting'

But "In The Bedroom" appears to have caught on. The low-budget production reportedly cost under $2 million to make, but it has already pulled in more than $30 million at the domestic box office. Some pundits suggest the publicity generated by its five Oscar nominations -- including one for best picture -- accounts for a third of all ticket sales. And there's still the post-Oscar push to come.

According to his co-stars, that success is in no small part due to Mapother's believability. The entire cast was nominated for best ensemble at the recent Screen Actors Guild Awards.

"He is just fantastic," says Spacek. "As Ruth Fowler, I had to hate him while we were filming. And when I saw the film, I had such empathy for him."

Tomei, up for best supporting actress, adds her own praise.

"There's something about William's performance ... he has the capacity to be so dark, and you really believe he's got this bad seed in him. Still," she continues, "just as an audience member, I felt compassion for his character, and it's just a testament to his mastery."

So, why no Oscar nomination? Chalk it up to voter familiarity, perhaps. Spacek won best actress for "Coal Miner's Daugher." Tomei claimed a best supporting victory for "My Cousin Vinny." Wilkinson hasn't won an individual Academy Award, but his Oscar-nominated film, England's "The Full Monty," was a huge success in Britain before catching financial fire in the United States.

Todd Field, like "Moulin Rouge" filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, is another of those quirky examples of a director of a best picture nominee failing to get a best director nomination. But Field makes light of the Academy's omission of Mapother from the field of acting nominees.

"William Mapother wasn't nominated for an Oscar," Field chuckles, "but I think that's good because it gives him something to shoot for."

The filmmaker adds, "People just forget that he's acting because they think he's this terrifying human being."

Mapother, revealing a familiar toothy grin, laughs at the comment. He recalls certain close encounters with filmgoers at the supermarket. "One woman said, 'I turned around and saw you several minutes ago and felt a chill.' "

As for Oscar results and "Bedroom's" best picture chances? "Keep yourself distracted," says Mapother. "What's the good in fretting?"

So why worry? William Mapother's already made a name for himself.