THE ROLE OF THEIR LIVES 'UNSCRIPTED' PUTS HOLLYWOOD HOPEFULS IN A STRANGE TELEVISED REALITY.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

ASK AN actor why he chose a certain project, and more often than not he'll say the script won him over.

In the case of George Clooney's latest producing/directing foray, it was the absence of a teleplay that drew in Krista Allen, Bryan Greenberg and Jennifer Hall. ``Unscripted,'' a half-hour series debuting tonight on HBO, is a look at the day-to-day struggles of three actors in Hollywood: two relative newcomers (Greenberg and Hall, both in their mid-20s) seeking their first real break and a more experienced player (Allen, 34) who, as a single mom, is looking for legit work and trying to live down roles in ``Baywatch Hawaii'' and a series of soft porn movies. Their common ground is their acting class.

Viewers and critics alike may be at a loss for a tidy way to describe the project. Even after completing its 10 episodes, its stars hem and haw through their definitions. ``Confusing.'' ``Crazy.'' ``Surreal.'' ``Strange.'' ``No one really understands the show until they actually see it. ... We still don't understand,'' Hall confesses.

You might say it's a drama-comedic, improvised, reality-based, fictionalized mockumentary. (Good luck on finding it a place on an Emmys ballot.)

It seems Clooney has a wealth of anecdotes from his lean years before stardom struck with ``ER,'' so he and his Section Eight production company partner Steven Soderbergh conceived a show that aims to capture the authentic experiences of wannabes who eke out a living bouncing from soundstage to Equity-waiver play. Clooney invited in Hall and Allen, who appeared in his feature ``Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,'' and Greenberg won his part in through auditioning. Clooney directed the first five episodes and then turned over the lens to his fellow executive producer Grant Heslov for the remainder when he went to work on ``Ocean's Twelve.''

The plot elements evolve in weekly Monday morning meetings with Clooney, Heslov, co-executive producer Matt Adler and the lead players. ``We discuss certain things that have happened in our lives or something that has happened to a friend of ours ... that people might find interesting, and then we put it into what these characters are going through,'' Allen explained.

``We shot the pilot, and I remember George kept saying it's like shooting a home movie. We're acting like we're kids with a camera,'' Allen said. ``And that's exactly what it was like, running around, changing in vans. There were no dressing rooms.''

Some plot points were set up deliberately, such as Hall's work as a stand-in or an extra when in reality she often gets speaking parts. Others were ripped from the individual's headlines, such as Greenberg's capturing a regular role on the series ``One Tree Hill,'' or Allen's call during production to appear as a ``strip Ping-Pong girl'' on the sitcom ``I'm With Her.'' ``I'm like, 'I'm not doing that,' '' Allen said. ``And George is like, `Oh yes, you are. You're doing it.' And then you make a story around it.''

``The characters are somewhat based on us, but then there are things that are right for me that are not right for my character and vice versa,'' Hall said. ``When we first started, we would start trying to plan what it was going to be and where the jokes were going to be and how everything was going to be so funny. And it always ended up that the stuff you try to make funny was never the funny stuff. The funny stuff was what happened that you weren't planning on.''

The only regular who is not using his own name in the series is Frank Langella, who is acting coach Goddard Fulton. True to his role in their fragile careers, he puts them through outlandish scene exercises, building up their self-esteem with lavish praise one minute and then sticking a pin in it the next.

``We have a lot of extras in that class with Goddard, and I'll tell you something,'' Allen said. ``The notes that they're writing, those are real. When they're taking notes from Goddard, they are just enthralled. They are writing like crazy because (Langella) gives such good nuggets of information.''

``The show touches on artistry vs. industry, and I enjoy that,'' Hall said, ``because in school they spend all their time teaching you the artistry of it, and you leave school and you come out into the real world, and all the stuff you know is useless. They don't tell you how to get an agent, where to get your headshots, how to make connections.''

There were plenty of connections to be made in filming ``Unscripted,'' as the camera crew captured cameos of Brad Pitt, George Lopez, Hank Azaria, Garry Marshall, Noah Wyle, Mike O'Malley and Bonnie Hunt.

There was some resistance to having a film crew - even a small, well-mannered one - invade another director's turf, but when Greenberg was cast in the feature ``Prime,'' star Meryl Streep was quite willing to play along.

``People treat you like you're on some reality TV show, because no one really knows what the show is,'' Hall said. ``Sometimes people aren't as excited about having us there as we are about being there. But once they see it, every show's going to want us on their show.''

``Having George Clooney around - doors open a little easier,'' Greenberg said. ``We didn't have a lot of (filming) permits for a lot of the stuff, but George would just show up and flash a smile, and we're in there.

``He could kind of get away with anything. He's a good ambassador for this guerrilla-style shooting.''

All three praised the series for challenging their skills. As outside work found its way into the ``Unscripted'' stories, they needed to play the role they were cast in, as well as the slightly unreal version of themselves that Clooney required.

``It's crazy because you're like serving two masters at the same time, and you really have to be totally focused and aware of what you're doing and who you're doing it for,'' Greenberg said. ``It's very surreal and strange because it's never really been done before - not that I've known of. So I couldn't talk to anybody to look for advice.''

The show is not always flattering to its stars - Greenberg pads his resume, Hall hams it up as a stand-in, and Allen sticks her foot in her mouth with a casting director - but they believe it is honest.

``There's so many shows that portray actors as being unintelligent or just out for fame or money or chicks,'' Hall said. ``Now, we're out for all of that, but there is a dream involved, there is a craft. There's a lot at stake. I haven't really seen anything that really portrays the heart of pursuing your dreams of being an actor. They kind of make fun of it. While it's funny, we don't make fun of it.''

If HBO renews the series, all three say they're game to do it again if asked.

``I've got some crazy ideas of what we can do,'' Greenberg said. ``I think we've got a lot of stories to tell. There are so many opportunities and so many ups and downs in an actor's life that you can tell.

``And it's not just about the actors, it's about personal relationships, too, set in this world of Hollywood. And I think that's what gives it legs. I think we just scratched the surface.''

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

UNSCRIPTED

What: Improvised mockumentary about three struggling actors in Hollywood.

Where: HBO.

When: Episodes 1 and 2 at 10 tonight.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Producer/director George Clooney, left, enlisted Hollywood veteran Frank Langella to portray an acting coach in ``Unscripted.''

(2) Jennifer Hall of ``Unscripted''