By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Joey Kern

Joey Kern doesn't really skateboard in the new movie Grind, opening Friday; world-class pro Chad Shettler was his skating double.

But when he was growing up in Independence, Kern says, "I was a huge skateboarder. ... I got arrested a lot."

There were no public skateboard parks then, and even private backyard ramps, like one constructed by a friend, were liable to draw complaints from neighbors.

"Trying to skateboard in Kentucky was insane," he says.

Things are different now. "On the West Coast, there are skate parks everywhere. Kids are encouraged to skate," he says.

"I know a lot of Midwestern cities are going to it, too. Parents love it. I've seen parents learning to skate right next to their kids."

Kern, who plays one of four skateboarders in Grind on a comic quest to break into the pro circuit, attended St. Xavier High School - and took dance lessons that paid off in a brief booty-shaking scene in Grind. After high school, he earned a drama degree from New York University.

He supplemented that training with a stint at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and polished his skills on the New York stage.

He worked with the Atlantic Theater Company and the New Group Theater, among others. Last year, he played Troilus in the Theatre for a New Audience production of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida under superstar director Peter Hall.

Grind provides his biggest screen role, but Kern - whose brother, Kevin, is also an actor - has appeared in half-dozen other films, including Love the Hard Way, XX/XY and Super Troopers.

While he will be back on multiplex screens around the country next month in the much-buzzed-about horror flick Cabin Fever, and has other movie projects under consideration, Kern is keeping any eye out for reasons to get back on stage.

"I may do some Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, in Portland in the winter. I love doing Shakespeare, love doing stage shows."

Nevertheless, Kern says he expects to concentrate most of his efforts on moviemaking.

"Living in New York, I was doing a lot of off-Broadway theater, but it was getting harder to do, because you're losing roles to Dawson's Creek characters. I hated that."

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com