Tony Goldwyn is both a renowned director and acclaimed act6or, but his work opposite Nastassia Kinski in An American Rhapsody may well be his best yet. Paul Fischer spoke to him in Los Angeles.

More than a decade after Ghost, actor-director Tony Goldwyn admits that shaking off that particular "ghost" has been a challenge. "I"ve done a lot of movies, movies that made a lot of money, too - other than Ghost. It"s amazing. I get sick of it. I mean, I"m grateful for it," but I think it"s one of those movies that struck a chord in the consciousness of people and they watch it over and over again. It"s like, "Hey, you were in Ghost. Yeah, I saw that on TV yesterday." It"s weird - I haven"t seen the movie in 10 years!"

Goldwyn, who is currently starring as a Hungarian refugee in the award-winning new film An American Rhapsody, has also had to contend with that famous surname of his; after al, he IS the grandson of legendary MGM founder Samuel Goldwyn. "I grew up in Hollywood," he says. "Saying my name here is like mentioning Ford in Detroit." He adds that though his surname may be advantageous here in Tinsel Town, "It was also kind of negative for me. I started out in New York theatre, where it was a non-issue and it really never came up. As soon as I came to Hollywood, every audition I went to, was like, 'How's your dad?" or 'I know your brother.' It was awful," Goldwyn adds smilingly. "I hated it. It was embarrassing, and generally I could see in their eyes they didn"t take me seriously. They thought I was a spoiled kid who wanted to be an actor."

Goldwyn's first major film was 1987's Gaby: A True Story, in which he was eighth-billed. His breakthrough feature was 1990"s Ghost, in which he played Carl, the "lying snake," who sets up the murder of his best friend (Patrick Swayze) and then callously moves in on the dead man"s grieving girlfriend (Demi Moore). A master at playing charming-but-shallow yuppies, Goldwyn went on to appear in films ranging from The Pelican Brief (1994) to Nixon (1995) to the thriller Kiss the Girls (1997). In 1998, Goldwyn played astronaut Neil Armstrong in the made-for-TV docudrama series From the Earth to the Moon; the following year he made his directorial debut with the similarly-titled A Walk on the Moon. Starring Diane Lane as a dissatisfied housewife who finds physical and emotional enlightenment with a blouse salesman (Viggo Mortensen) in 1969 upstate New York, the film enjoyed an overwhelmingly favourable reception. Also in 1999, Goldwyn earned additional kudos for voicing the title character of Disney"s animated Tarzan. Audiences were able to see more of the actor in 2000, when he appeared in Don Roos" romantic drama Bounce and in the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi thriller The 6th Day.

Goldwyn"s latest film as an actor is the acclaimed new Indie film An American Rhapsody. Set in the darkest days of the Cold War, a Hungarian family sacrifices wealth and privilege to escape to the West and gain freedom from Communist repression. Amid the chaos of their late-night border crossing, their youngest child is left behind. They go on to build a new life in America, while in the old country a peasant family raises Suzanne as if she were their own. But Suzanne"s true mother never stops fighting to bring her to America. After five years of persistence she wins her fight. Suzanne comes to America; greeted by people she"s never met who say they are her parents. As Suzanne grows up to be a rebellious teenager, she must deal directly with the mystery of her past. Only by going back to Hungary, by crossing the border once again, on her own terms, is she able to find herself and to find her true home. Goldwyn plays the paternal head of the family, and spends the first section speaking flawless Hungarian. "That was an incredible challenge, but it adds so much to the realism of the piece," Goldwyn explains.

Also enhancing that reality was shooting on location in Hungary "which was so stimulating, working with all those amazing Hungarian actors." Goldwyn says he is most proud of this film "because it has so much genuine passion to it. It"s a personal story told with honesty and real emotion."

AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY OPENED IN NY AND LA ON FRiDAY. IT WILL OPEN WIDER THIS WEEK.