FRIDAY THE 13TH ACTORS' LUCKY DAY; STARS FAVOR PRESCHOOL TWINS FROM SAUGUS WITH HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Luck and timing have everything to do with being ``discovered'' in show business.

So it came as a great surprise to Peggy Boersma that her twin boys, Casey and Dylan, landed supporting film roles in ``Father of the Bride II'' four years ago and kicked off acting careers.

After all, they were three weeks old at the time and were born on a Friday the 13th. ``The funny thing is, they've had nothing but good luck all their lives,'' Peggy said of the day that the superstitious deem the unluckiest.

Shortly after their birth, Peggy had joined a local twins club when another member put her in contact with a Hollywood producer who was frantic to find twin newborns for a brief scene in ``Father of the Bride II.''

``They often look for twins, because the film industry is very strict when it comes to working with child actors, especially babies,'' Peggy recalled. ``They can be under lights for 20 minutes at a time, so with twins, they're interchangeable . . . or if one's cranky, they can switch them off.''

It wasn't long before Major Minors Management contacted Peggy and husband, Michael Boersma, to represent the twins. At 2 years old, they were chosen to appear in the television show ``7th Heaven'' in the recurring guest role as Billy West, the toddler son of a teen father. Other credits include ``General Hospital'' and ``Unsolved Mysteries.''

``We never went looking for this,'' Peggy said. ``It's been a nice surprise, and the boys seem to have a lot of fun with it.''

Casey and Dylan, who've landed at least a dozen commercials, recurring television roles and small parts in movies since sharing screen time as the newborn grandson in ``Father of the Bride II,'' were filmed in their biggest roles yet this past spring, in a star-powered vehicle starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.

``The Story of Us,'' directed by Rob Reiner, is slated for December release. The brothers shared the role of Pfeiffer's 3-year-old son in about 10 flashback sequences.

``I couldn't believe it when I got the call and was told they'd be working with Bruce and Michelle. I asked, Bruce and Michelle who? I kind of had an idea it was them, but wasn't sure,'' Peggy recalled. She added, ``They were so nice to the boys. Bruce played football with them a lot.''

The job also came as a shock because the twins never auditioned for it, she said. ``They were chosen from their photographs, because they resembled an older boy who plays Michelle Pfeiffer's son in flashbacks.''

It also helped that as far as identical twins go, the sandy-haired, hazel-eyed boys with Cheshire Cat-like grins are identical as they come - with subtle differences that only a family member can pick out.

``Casey has a freckle on his cheek and Dylan's a little bit fuller in the lips and cheeks,'' said Peggy, who admits with reluctance that she enjoys dressing them alike - for now.

``I'm pretty guilty of that, but I'll have to stop doing that once they begin preschool in the fall, so they don't drive the teachers nuts,'' she said.

One may wonder how the boys learn their lines, seeing how they haven't attended school or learned to read yet.

``They only know their letters right now, so we help them memorize everything. Usually it's a few words or they (film crews) need a facial expression from them, so it's simple,'' Peggy said. ``And we try to make it fun for them, like a game.''

Either Peggy, Michael or their daughter, Gina, 16, act out scenes with the boys to help them learn their cues. ``Rehearsal'' often takes place by the poolside, with the boys reciting their lines as they do ``cannonballs'' into the water.

Above all, the acting jobs must be fun for the boys, Peggy said, noting that the family refrains from placing pressure on them to land parts. They do not mention auditions afterward and never tell Casey and Dylan that they didn't get a part. ``If they get it, I'll tell them the day before and say, You get to work tomorrow. I leave it at that,'' Peggy said.

And she knows that once school starts, the boys' lives will change and so might their willingness to continue working when they get older.

``For now they're having fun. . . . I already know they want to play flag football when they're old enough, so if they ever tell me they don't want to do this anymore, that's fine,'' she said.

Casey and Dylan already have picked out their favorite football team - the Buffalo Bills. Added Peggy, ``Of course, that's Dad's favorite team.''

In the meantime, the boys have begun to amass a small legion of fans.

``It's mostly been girls who recognized them from `7th Heaven,' '' said Peggy, recalling a recent incident at a mall when a group of cheerleaders sighted the boys. ``They all knew who they were from the show, so I had them say hi to the girls,'' she laughed.

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Photo

PHOTO (Color in SAC Edition only) Twin actors Casey, left, and Dylan Boersma have appeared in TV's ``7th Heaven'' and recently filmed a movie with Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News