COMING OF AGE; `LOLITA'S' TEEN STAR FEELS CONNECTION WITH INFAMOUS CHARACTER.

Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Writer

David Swain knew exactly how to surprise his daughter Dominique when he picked her up at Los Angeles International Airport after her audition in New York.

``I put a rose on the seat of the car,'' he said, ``and she just screamed at the top of her lungs, `I'm Lolita!' ''

That parody three years ago of one of the more memorable scenes from the controversial movie ``Lolita'' served two purposes.

It told her she beat out more than 2,500 other actresses for the title role. It also reinforced that her parents were unquestionably behind her in participating in a film about pedophilia - a film that, as it turned out, was almost never seen.

The $58 million project based on Vladimir Nabokov's 1954 novel was spurned by many outlets, languishing for two years before Showtime came along.

Showtime paid a fraction of the film's costs for the rights to show ``Lolita'' at 9 p.m. Aug. 2.

The R-rated film actually will debut tonight and run for a week at the Landmark Checci Gori Fine Art Theatre in Beverly Hills to qualify for Academy Award consideration. It's expected to be released in theaters again for a longer run in September.

``Lolita,'' set in 1947, also stars Jeremy Irons as Humbert Humbert, a refined, witty professor of French literature who falls in love with a child who later would become his stepdaughter.

``I think it's a tragedy,'' said Irons, who has played his share of creepy characters. ``I think it's a love story. I think it's a portrait of America at a certain time. It has many levels. But, I think, like any piece of work, you can take it for what you want. For me, because I was a protagonist, it is a love story - and a tragedy.''

An actress and her role

The young Swain, a senior at Malibu High School, seems to understand all of this with a charming teen-age awkwardness, including making faces, giggling and nervously shifting her lanky body.

She read the famous novel and felt a connection with Lolita.

``I really think I knew what Lolita was thinking and feeling, even more than Humbert Humbert seemed to,'' Swain said. ``And I knew that I would do a good job portraying her. Humbert Humbert was a sicko, but in some way you wanted him to succeed.''

Swain, whose resume included one stint as a stunt double when she was 10, was a late entrant into the national search for Lolita. The Los Angeles casting call already had passed when the then-14-year-old decided to get involved. Her father and manager put together an amateurish videotape, produced in her brother's Marina del Rey apartment, which featured her reading the novel and making Lolita-like faces.

``She made this homemade tape, which I thought was terrific, and she was funny in it,'' said director Adrian Lyne. ``I had already almost decided on a professional actress, and so I thought, `What have I got to lose if I test Dominique at the same time?' And, in the end, the chemistry between her and Jeremy was extraordinary.''

The unlikely schoolgirl got to work with the director of such salacious movies as ``9-1/2 Weeks,'' ``Fatal Attraction'' and ``Indecent Proposal.''

``There were times when I thought I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing,'' David Swain said. ``But, playing Monday morning quarterback, it worked out great. This is a classic. This is an important subject. If I was a pedophile, this would make me think twice.''

No funny business

His daughter, who will turn 18 in August, was 15 when production on the movie began. Cindy Swain, a boutique owner, was on the set the entire time the film was shot, acting as her daughter's watchdog.

``There is one scene where she slides down a banister, and her panties were showing,'' David Swain said. ``She made them shoot it again.''

Nudity was not an issue for the Lolita character - however, in the did-we-need-to-see-that department, Frank Langella, who plays playwright Clare Quilty, is seen naked - and Lyne employed a body double for some of the more sensuous scenes.

``I was completely comfortable making this film,'' Dominique Swain said, ``I mean because of (Irons) and because of (Lyne). They put me completely at ease. I'm just so thankful that I was able to try things out and have my ideas taken seriously. They just gave me the reins: `You're Lolita. You're this nymphet. Just do what you do.' ''

That's Swain, the actress. She did not appear nearly as comfortable on stage as part of a five-person panel to promote the film recently at the Showtime portion of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. She was antsy and animated, but rarely got a word in.

When asked which of the film's locations - which included Texas, California, South Carolina and North Carolina - was her favorite, she said, ``Oh, Texas, good lord. Something that sticks out in my mind is when we had to quit filming because there was some kind of natural disaster, like there was this tin roof blowing off a house and, like, flying through the set.''

Lyne told her that it was a dust storm in El Paso.

``Dust storm, hick bowl,'' said Swain, who said UCLA and NYU are her top college choices.

On that note, Jerry Offsay, the president of programming at Showtime quickly changed the subject.

``I didn't want to blurt out my business,'' said Swain to a small pocket of reporters after the press conference. ``I don't think what I had to say coincided with the message Showtime wanted to be portraying.''

Meeting Dominique

Out in the ballroom foyer, Swain's youthful personality came out. She was refreshing and honest, but unmistakably raw. When asked what her father did, she said simply, ``He's an electrical engineer and stuff.''

The second-youngest of five children enjoyed not having to fight for attention, although she said she was concerned that the lavish treatment she received on the set could spoil her.

She described Irons as a ``Dinosaur. Maybe it was my immaturity. On the set, there were these ladies who just wanted to get a glimpse of him. I was like, `You ladies, whatever.' ''

However, she did say that Irons became her friend and that he had a very young demeanor.

When asked what she thinks when she sees a mismatched couple, like Humbert and Lolita, at, let's say, the mall, she said, ``Oh, God, that relationship is ill. Just what is either of you getting out of it?''

As for ``Lolita,'' Swain said that she got a lot of pleasure out of acting, but that doesn't mean she is looking at it as a career.

``Acting is so much fun, I just feel like I want to do something different, something more important,'' she said. ``I know that's not what you're supposed to say. You're supposed to love what you do.

``But, I think I want to direct.''

Spoken like someone way beyond her years.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) LOCAL Lolita

Malibu teen Dominique Swain as brash in real life as she is in controversial film

(2) In ``Lolita,'' a young girl (Dominique Swain) becomes the object of affection for a man (Jeremy Irons) who later becomes her stepfather.

(3) no caption (Dominique Swain)