FOR REA, `MICHAEL COLLINS' A TURNING POINT.

Byline: Joshua Mooney Entertainment News Wire

In ``The Crying Game,'' the surprise international hit of 1992 from Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan, a young Irishman is lured into a passionate romantic relationship with a provocative woman only to discover, in one of the most talked about film twists in recent years, that ``she'' is a ``he.'' American audiences reveled in the sexy intrigue and boldness of the film, but British audiences had a far different reaction.

The film was criticized sharply in England because its lead character was a member of the Irish Republican Army. That, says Irish actor Stephen Rea, who played the lead, is a telling distinction. ``The British think they're very sophisticated, but they missed the whole point of `The Crying Game,' '' says Rea. ``It's about sex. The Americans got it, so God bless America I say, as far as that's concerned. It shows that the British are so obsessed with their own image in terms of Ireland that they can't look at anything properly.''

Rea plays a crucial supporting role in Jordan's latest film, ``Michael Collins,'' which seems destined to stir up even more controversy than ``The Crying Game'' did. ``Collins'' is the epic dramatic saga of an early 20th-century Irish freedom fighter who waged war against the British forces occupying his country. Liam Neeson plays the title role in a film that also stars Julia Roberts, Alan Rickman and Aidan Quinn.

Rea says the fact that some already are calling ``Collins'' a pro-IRA film means it's unlikely the British will react rationally to the film. ``They may well fail to experience the `Collins' film properly because they'll be caught up in what it says about them,'' he predicts. ``Well, actually, it's not about them. It's about us and our long history, albeit with the interference of the English. They should make movies about themselves and let us make movies about ourselves.''

``Michael Collins'' is the fifth film Rea has appeared in for Jordan. Besides ``The Crying Game,'' he also appeared in ``The Company of Wolves,'' ``Angel'' and ``Interview With the Vampire.'' Their long working relationship, says Rea, made it inevitable that he would play a role in ``Collins,'' which has been a dream project of Jordan's for more than a decade. ``(Jordan) always wanted me to do something in it,'' he says. ``It's clear I wasn't going to play Michael Collins, since the original title of the film was `The Big Fella' and I'm not.''

Instead, he plays Broy, a double agent who worked as an informer for Collins as he waged his campaign against the British forces in Ireland. Broy, says Rea, ``is a man leading a secret life. A man who isn't necessarily courageous, but finds that he has to discover some courage.''

In addition to his work with Jordan, Rea, 48, has been showing up frequently in both European and American films. Recent efforts include ``Angie,'' with Geena Davis; a memorable role as an amoral fashion photographer in Robert Altman's ``Ready to Wear''; ``Life Is Sweet,'' for British director Mike Leigh; and two critically acclaimed films for HBO Pictures, ``Citizen X'' and ``Crime of the Century.'' In ``Citizen X'' he played the Russian detective who tracked down a notorious serial killer. In ``Crime of the Century'' he stars as Bruno Hauptmann in the real-life drama of the trial and execution of the man charged with killing the infant son of Charles Lindbergh.

Prior to the last decade, most of Rea's acting took place on the stage. The reason for that, says the Belfast-born actor, is quite simple. ``I wanted to act because I saw a lot of movies,'' he says. ``But there was no film industry in Ireland, so I went to the theater.'' In 1980, Rea formed the Field Day Theatre Company with respected Irish playwright Brian Friel and has acted in a large number of their productions. But these last few years on screen have reminded Rea of his original acting goals. ``The fact is,'' he says, ``I postponed a film career, and at a certain point I decided I had to move it along a bit.''

To Rea's way of thinking, that means doing a lot more work in Hollywood. But here the actor faces a dilemma. ``Well, I haven't made manifest my commitment to Hollywood because I don't live here,'' he says with a hint of frustration. ``If you're going to go for it big, you have to come here.'' He mentions fellow Irish actors Neeson and Gabriel Byrne as two who ``came to Hollywood and served their time.'' But, he adds, ``do I really want to involve myself on a daily basis with Hollywood? I've got two kids and I'm raising them in Ireland. I lived in London for a long time. In Belfast. I live in Dublin now. I don't have a problem with L.A. - I like L.A. But the kids ...''

There is yet another dimension to Rea's current dilemma: He's not certain he wants to play the celebrity game, although he's concluded that it is the price to be paid for acting success. ``I think I should be in big movies, and I love working in America - and if I'm going to do it, I should do it soon,'' he says. ``But I don't like the idea of offering up my private life to some sort of altar of cinema.''

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Photo: Stephen Rea: ``I wanted to act because I saw a lot o f movies.''