MASTEDONIA

60 Seconds

*From Metro (60 Seconds) - September 4, 2007*

Robert Schwartzman is lead singer with LA-based indie band Rooney. Robert is part of the Coppola film dynasty and counts actor Nicolas Cage and director Sofia Coppola among his cousins. Before settling on music, he had a short-lived acting career and appeared in teen film The Princess Diaries. Rooney's single When Did Your Heart Go Missing? is out now.

Have you had any mix-ups with footballer Wayne Rooney?
We played a festival in Japan with The Fratellis and they thought we were British because of the name. There�s no connection, though � it�s just a coincidence. We�re named after a character from the film Ferris Bueller�s Day Off. At first, we were called Ed Rooney, which was the character�s full name, but we eventually deleted the Ed.

You had a near-death experience coming back from Japan. What happened?
The plane was taking off, it was kind of shaky and I looked to my right and people were panicking and pointing out of the window. I didn�t know what they were seeing and then our bass player Matt told me smoke was coming out of the engine. I looked out of the other window and saw fuel being dumped out of the wing. The captain said they�d lost an engine and had to go back to Tokyo but had to dump all the fuel first. We were circling above the ocean for 40 minutes. I didn�t like being up there with a bad engine. We had to do an emergency landing, everyone let out a sigh of relief when we landed but the runway was full of emergency vehicles � they were planning for something seriously bad to happen.

Did your life flash before your eyes?
It really did. My jaw was frozen shut. I couldn�t believe it was happening. I definitely had a moment when I thought I might die. I�ve learned to make the most of every moment. We might have played shows in the past where I�ve gone through the motions but I never want to feel like that again. I want to enjoy the moment from now on as it could be the last show that I�ll ever do.

You were in The Princess Diaries. Did Julie Andrews give you any singing tips?
No, I was at high school at the time and didn�t tell Julie Andrews I was a singer in a band. I just showed up and did the work but it was awesome to meet her and get to dance with her. Acting was just something to do � I didn�t pursue it. I only did that one movie and it was seven years ago. The band is so time-consuming. It took three years to make this album; there was never time to do other things.

Many of your relatives are big names in the film industry. Why didn�t you go further down that particular path?
It would have been more obvious to go into film, based on the generation before me, but the generation before them were all composers or classical musicians. It would be great to be able to talk to those people about their profession but they�re all dead now.

The band was on an episode of The OC. Are you best mates with Mischa Barton now?
She comes to our shows and she�s a nice girl but I don�t hang out with her. Living in LA, you meet different people � you�re in the middle of Hollywood. I hate name-dropping.

Have you gone out with Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan?
I bumped into Paris Hilton at a show we did in Las Vegas. She�d just got out of prison and we were on a table with her. She seemed very sweet. I don�t know � maybe she�s more humble now that she�s been to prison. That whole world is gross. That whole young-teen-outof- control thing. Our band isn�t in that world.

Did she deserve to go to jail?
Yes. I was on a jury recently for a drink-driving case. I have a new respect for the legal process. It�s not fair for someone to get special treatment because they�re rich or famous. A lot of people make mistakes but, if you keep making the same mistakes, the law needs to intervene.

Did you send your perp to the big house?
Yes, the evidence was very much in the prosecution�s favour.

-Andrew Williams