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Each time Barry Pepper is onscreen, his angular face radiates honesty, leaving an impression that subtly but indelibly sears itself into memory. Think back to his breakout role in Saving Private Ryan (1998): He was unforgettable as the Southern, Bible-quoting sniper.

Having made his mark in the background of a few other well-chosen successes, like Enemy of the State (1998) and The Green Mile (1999) -- and the less-fruitful Battlefield Earth -- Pepper is ready for his close-up.  Come April, he'll play Yankee Roger Maris in the Billy-Crystal directed 61*.  And this month, he'll star in the gangster drama Knockaround Guys, with Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich.  (Word has it that the release date has been changed to April 2001)

The thirty-year-old Pepper spends most of his time with his wife and baby girl at home in Vancouver, where we caught up with him as he readied for a hunting trip.

What are you hunting?: 

Wild duck.  I prefer to provide my own food if I can.  I hate not knowing what kinds of steroids they've pumped into supermarket food.

Tell me a little bit about your upbringing:  

My parents built a boat, and we sailed it around the South Pacific, using stars to navigate.  When I was about ten, we moved to an island of about 1,200 hippies and artists, built a farm, and lived off the land (Denman Island in British Columbia - near Courtenay)

Did you experience serious culture shock when you first arrived in L.A.?:  

I really did.  I would stop and smile, and everyone else would just keep on truckin'.

Was the industry itself hard to get used to?:  

Yeah.  There's a very intense Hollywood clone machine driving that place.

Did that worry you?:  

Actually, when I worked in Vancouver, I had really long hair and I'd either get the comic relief or the bad boy roles.  So  when I went to L.A., I decided to change my image.  I really wanted to show people that I had abilities as a serious actor.

It seems to have worked:  

But you know what?  Because of all the intense roles I've done, casting directors now just see me as the hard-core sniper or prison guard!

And now a gangster.  I heard you only had five days between the filming of Battlefield Earth and Knockaround Guys.  

It was a disaster!  I was playing a 3,000-year-old mountain savage in Battlefield and then I played a Brooklyn mobster's son.  So I had to jump from leather loincloth to Armani and shades.

Was the negative reaction to Battlefield Earth difficult for you?:  

Very difficult.  But I can only blame myself.  I prayed about the part, and my first instinct was to pass.  You can compromise yourself by not listening to your God or inner voice.  But what can you do?  They can't all be Saving Private Ryan.

Do you pray before accepting every role?:  

Definitely.  I think it's important to consider your legacy.  I want my daughter to be proud of what her Daddy has done with his life.