He's only 32 and single, yet Roy Dupuis has 20 children.

That's the magic of movies.

For the past decade, Dupuis has been at the forefront of French-Canadian theatre and cinema.

Through his critically acclaimed performances in the Quebec miniseries Emily and Million Dollar Babies, Dupuis has caught the attention of producers and directors in Hollywood and Europe. It was the characters he played in these two miniseries who fathered the 20 children, five of which were the Dionne quintuplets whose lives were chronicled in Million Dollar Babies. Dupuis played their father, Oliva.

Dupuis is currently starring as the cold-blooded mercenary in the science-fiction thriller Screamers.

"I'm pleased to say there are offers coming in from Hollywood. I've been invited down to Los Angeles for some meetings to coincide with the opening of Screamers," explained Dupuis in a telephone interview from Quebec City.

"I hope this translates into as many film offers as possible. I would love to be in the position of having a choice of what American movies I could do."

Dupuis feels that a career outside his native la belle province would also give him the much-needed time to meet himself.

"I have been so busy trying to build a career that I haven't really had the time to meet myself. Now, I am beginning to have the time to do that, and I am fascinated by what I discover about myself.

"I am learning that I have value as a person and that I have a good reason to like myself. That's important in any job but especially in acting."

Because it took almost six months of post-production work to add the special effects to Screamers, Dupuis has already completed two more films.

One was a Swiss movie filmed in Toronto called Waiting for Michelangelo, and the other, a European film, Air Libre, shot in Venezuela.

"I spoke French and Spanish in Air Libre. It's to an actor's advantage to speak as many languages as possible. Movies are an international business.

"I'm working very hard right now on perfecting my English.

"I was born in Montreal but at age 11 I moved to Ontario so I learned English, but having worked almost exclusively in French theatre and cinema for more than 10 years, I've lost a great deal of my English."

Dupuis is not the kind of actor who is satisfied with simply giving a director what is written in the screenplay.

It was Dupuis' idea to have his soldier of fortune in Screamers spout reams of Shakespeare.

"I felt the character as written was a bit one-dimensional. I thought it was a bit wacky and on the edge to have such a cold character have such a knowledge of philosophy and art."

Dupuis was excited about the prospect of starring in Screamers because it is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick whose works inspired Blade Runner.

"Blade Runner is my favorite science-fiction film because, like all great science fiction, it is a way of re-evaluating the present. It's not just for escapism. It's meant to make us think about the directions our culture is taking."

Screamers may not be a clear road map to where 20th-century man is going but it is a good indication of where Dupuis is headed.

It's definitely south of the border for another Canadian actor.