HE'S EN ROUTE ... VIA ATLANTA 'ATL' COULD BE EVAN ROSS' TICKET TO FAME.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Violets seldom shrink in the Ross household.

Rhonda Ross Kendrick ("Another World") and Tracee Ellis Ross (of TV's "Girlfriends") have already followed their mom, Diana Ross, into Hollywood's spotlight. Now, apparently, the time has come for Ross' youngest child, 17-year-old Evan, to get a little bit of face time.

Given his pedigree, Ross says such an occurrence was an inevitability.

"In my family, we're like a group of all entertainers. So we sit around the table and jump out, and whoever is loudest gets the words out. I was always the one to win."

OK, but sibling one-upmanship in the living room is one thing. With all those acting classes and music lessons ongoing, how did Ross actually know he was ready to go professional?

Well, even despite the considerable influence his mom has over her youngest son, Evan says he informed Diana Ross that the time had come, not the other way around.

"(My mother) always knew I wanted to do it," says Ross, who makes his film debut in Chris Robinson's new film, "ATL," opening today. "She just wanted me to take my time, do it right. Everybody says, 'You're young.' I'm 17, but I feel as though it's time. There's no reason for me to be sitting around doing something I didn't want to be doing."

Ross' father (Arne Naess Jr.) died in a mountain-climbing accident in early 2004. Shortly afterward, Ross said his desire to take his acting to the next level crystallized. Mother and son had a mutual squealfest when they learned that Evan was headed to "ATL."

"Mom always told me that everything you do is a part of your story, and you've got to build that story properly," says Ross. "I felt this movie was talking about a lot of real issues and had a lot of ups and downs. I'm playing a totally different character than who I am, and I thought from this I can go and do something totally different."

"ATL" (an abbreviation for Atlanta, where the film was shot and is set) tracks a group of friends during the waning days of their senior year in high school. Tip Harris (also known by his rap moniker, T.I.) plays the movie's central character, Rashad, a budding cartoonist who has to hold his family together following the death of his parents. Rashad and his friends spend much of their leisure time in a high-action roller-skating rink, Atlanta's answer to a dance club.

The film is loosely based on the South Atlanta upbringings of producers Dallas Austin and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins. "ATL" marks the feature debuts of acclaimed music video director Robinson, as well as actors Harris, Ross, Lauren London (who plays Rashad's girlfriend, New- New), and rapper Antwan Andre Patton (aka Big Boi), who plays the drug dealer Marcus.

Ross is Anton ("Ant"), Rashad's younger brother, and there is precious little, background-wise, that links actor and character.

What, after all, would the son of a world-famous singer and Norwegian shipping magnate know about being a hardscrabble 15-year-old looking to get a leg up by unwisely falling in with a neighborhood drug dealer?

Maybe not so much, acknowledges Ross, but that didn't stop the aspiring actor/singer from pushing hard for the role.

"I fell in love with each and every one of the characters, especially the character I knew I would be going in for," recalls Ross. "So I called up my manager and said, 'Come on, please. I need to get this part. We have to do everything and anything to get this part.'"

Ross needn't have been too anxious, says director Robinson. The physical resemblance to Harris helped, and Ross easily held off actors with considerably more professional experience.

"I had looked at maybe 60 kids, a lot of kids who do TV and stuff in L.A.," says Robinson. "He came in very unassuming and quiet, you almost didn't notice him, and he ripped it.

"He is a true actor," continues Robinson. "He thinks about the role, he internalizes it, and he asks all the right questions."

"I don't think it was too hard to find this character," adds Ross. "No matter where you've come from, no matter what you've dealt with, each and every person deals with these feelings. I'm playing a character that's so different from myself, but at the same time I've dealt with inner conflict."

No, Ant never has it so easy. Life can deliver some nasty blows, and you have to learn to deal.

"He hit rock-bottom. Sometimes that's what it takes," says Ross. "Growing up, most people go through something. Until you've dealt with things, you can't begin to understand what's to come. It's part of growing up, and it sucks."

In person, Ross laughs easily, possesses an older performer's poise and is unfailingly polite. He's scheduled to start his next film, opposite "Hustle & Flow's" Terrence Howard, in mid-April, but won't give any more details of the project beyond "Look out for me."

Ross, who was born in Greenwich, Conn., and has lived around the world, reflects on the nearly four months spent in Atlanta with fondness: for the camaraderie with his fellow actors (Atlanta native Harris took Ross under his wing) and for the general sense of Southern hospitality that the city offers.

He saves some of his highest praise for Mykelti Williamson ("Forrest Gump", "Ali") who plays Uncle George, Rashad and Ant's layabout uncle.

"I got to just sit with him and vibe with him. I tried to soak in everything I could. Because not only is he an incredible actor and an experienced actor, he's someone who has an all-around great work ethic," Ross said of Williamson. "He really let me know you've got to stand your ground. You might get pushed around a little bit because you're the youngest."

Although he was indeed the youngest person on set, and a feature film rookie, Ross says he wasn't about to give anybody reason to lower their expectations about him.

"Naturally, people might think, maybe he's younger and won't wake up on time, but I think, because of that, I strived to be on top," says Ross. "Be ready every day, have my lines and have Chris Robinson tell me that I made his day easier."

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) SUPREME-LY CONFIDENT

With a world-famous mother and a role in the feature film `ATL,' Evan Ross knows exactly where he's going

(2) no caption (Evan Ross)

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(3) ``Ant'' (Evan Ross, left) and Rashad (Tip ``T.I.'' Harris) are brothers - and friends - coming of age in Atlanta in ``ATL,'' the feature film debut of the 17-year-old son of singer Diana Ross.