Local kid hits the big time but keeps his head

Maintaining a normal life can be a tough balancing act for many child actors, but not for Devon Conti and his family, who live in East Quogue.

Due in part to a grounded home life, the talented 11-year-old East Quogue Elementary School student seems just like any other sixth-grader in the neighborhood, with no outward indications that he recently got to play Angelina Jolie’s son in “Changeling,” the recently released movie directed by Clint Eastwood.

It has been a big year for the young actor, who has rubbed elbows with acting legends on the “Changeling” set in Los Angeles, walked the red carpet for the movie’s premiere, was mentioned by Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” and has even had his name on the marquee at the Hampton Arts Cinema in Westhampton Beach. But despite his recent brush with fame, Devon has managed thus far to maintain a reasonably normal, though very busy, life back home on the East End.

Keeping a healthy balance is important, according to Devon’s mom, Julie Conti. She reported in a recent interview that even though she and her son frequently travel to Manhattan for auditions, the straight-A student still finds time to skateboard and play football, basketball and baseball just like any other boy his age.

Speaking with the directness and sincerity only an 11-year-old can pull off, Devon said he has a simple recipe for living: “Stay alive and keep it real, that’s my motto,” he said during

the recent sit-down at home with his mom.

Ms. Conti said that she is proud of her son, and his three siblings, for putting family first while they all pursue their individual passions.

“The whole family is busy, but that’s the way we like it,” Ms. Conti said. “Everybody supports one another in this house.”

Good time management skills are a necessity in the Conti household, with four children about to be joined by another, baby Ava, who is on the way. In fact, Ms. Conti and Devon’s dad, Tom Conti, depend on a dry erase board to keep track of the busy family’s comings and goings. Broadway hopeful 12-year-old Allie dances competitively and sings, 7-year-old Brandyn swims, and 2½-year-old Alyssa also dances.

Though he might be the most famous member of his family at the moment, Devon shows no signs of being a prima donna. In fact, his mother said that he never boasts of his celebrity and talks about his fledgling career only when asked.

“He’s very modest,” Ms. Conti said. “He hasn’t changed a bit; he’s the same old Devon.”

And even though Devon might be humble about his early success, there’s no mistaking his passion for acting. “I want to do this the rest of my life,” he said, adding that it was solely his decision, and not anyone else’s idea, to pursue his dream. “Two years ago I told my mom that I wanted to act, and boom, here I am.”

Devon got his acting start when he was selected during an open call audition organized through the John Robert Powers modeling and acting school system. From there he landed commercials with furniture retailer Ethan Allen and the Bob Evans Restaurant chain and also acted on the small screen with the comedian Artie Lange in a Comedy Central special. He is now professionally represented by Innovative Artists talent agency and managed by Bryan Leder and Frederick Levy at 101 Management.

Many East Enders might also recognize the actor from his participation in productions at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, where he played roles last summer such as King Duncan in a young people’s version of “Macbeth” and as a member of the Very Hairy Frowny-Face Tribe in “The Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.”

Rosalie Luber, the director of the Shakespeare Camp at the PAC, wrote

in an e-mail

last week that Devon was a real standout, both as an actor and as a person. “Right from the beginning as a Shakespeare student, Devon sparkled ... he seemed to have an intuitiveness for acting far beyond his years,” Ms. Luber wrote. “He was poised and engaging, clever and vibrant ... a talented and expansive thespian.”

Joanna Ferraro-Levy, the PAC associate director and director of arts education, agreed in an e-mail that Devon was a great addition to the program. “He’s a delightful, talented young man with a real twinkle in his eye,” Ms. Ferraro-Levy wrote, noting that he went from participating in the summer programs to “running off with his mom to a big audition in NYC ... and he handled it all with great aplomb.”

There was one particular time, though, when Devon said he remembers losing control—when he got the call that he had booked the role in “Changeling.”

“You could probably hear me screaming from a mile away,” he said.

Hanging out on the set with such industry icons as Mr. Eastwood and Ms. Jolie was thrilling for the young actor, but he insisted that the two bold-face names are regular people who just happen to be famous. “They’re just like you and me,” he said. “And I learned so much from the both of them.”

In addition to learning some of the tricks of the trade from the legends, Devon also kept a few mementos from his experiences on “Changeling”—like his autograph book, a director’s chair signed by both Mr. Eastwood and Ms. Jolie, on-set photographs, and an engraved key chain from Ms. Jolie—as a reminder of his two and a half months on location in Hollywood.

And while he remains a humble young man, Devon said he has big plans for future success on the big screen. “When I can,” he said, “I’ll deal directly with Clint Eastwood.”