By Craig Modderno

"I can't tell you what the difference is between an actor who stars in a movie or one who stars in a TV series, but there is a definite quality they both must share---an often indefinable ability to have the audiences eyes riveted to them."

So says Amy Brenneman, who has parlayed her role of a cop who commits murder to help David Caruso's character on the television series NYPD Blue, into a major film career, beginning with Bye Bye Love.

"In Bye Bye Love, I seduce Matthew Modine or Paul Reiser, I'm not sure which. Well, actually, I am, but its a comedy about three men going through the divorce process, so you don't want me to tip off too many of the jokes or the plot, do you?" Brenneman teases. Having been nominated for an Emmy Award for her NYPD Blue performance, Brenneman almost immediately vaulted into the ranks of Hollywood's hottest actresses. After Bye Bye Love, she will be seen in the thriller No Fear, followed by a role in producer Steven Spielberg's Casper, opposite Bill Pullman. She's currently playing Robert De Niro's girlfriend in director Michael Mann's gangster drama 'Heat', which co-stars Al Pacino.

"People seemed to see me as a fresh face and a mature woman, which apparently there aren't too many of in my age group [late twenties]. I think producers regarded NYPD Blue as an actors show, so they knew anyone who starred on it has to have an acting ability that registered strong at the very least," explains Brenneman, her voice cooly confident, rather than egotistical, in assessing her quantum leap to the big screen.

"Paul Reiser, I predict, will be a big film star because women find his sense of humor and his unconventional good looks to be sexy. David Caruso has the uncanny ability to appear as if he's directly looking into your soul and the sensitivity to make a woman feel wanted and protected." So what star quality does Brenneman possess for the big screen?

"I thought you would be able to tell me", she says, with a good-natured laugh.