On-the-go career keeps rolling along

JURNEE SMOLLETT has been a working actress for the last 15 years, which isn’t a bad accomplishment for someone a month shy of her 19th birthday.

“Before that I was doing modeling,” says the effusive Smollett.

Though she began her career on such sitcoms as “On Our Own,” which also featured her five siblings, it was her award-winning performance as a young girl who uncovers family secrets in the 1997 indie hit “Eve’s Bayou” that put her on the map as a dramatic actress. More serious roles followed in the TV movies “Ruby’s Bucket of Blood” and “Selma, Lord, Selma,” as well as stints on “ER” and “Strong Medicine.”

Now she gets a chance to strut her comedic stuff as a lovable goofball in the coming-of-age comedy “Roll Bounce,” which opens Friday.

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, “Roll Bounce” revolves around a group of teenage skaters in the late 1970s who enter a competition at a fancy rink on the other side of town. Smollett plays Tori, a friend of a skater named X (Bow Wow).

“You know what I love so much about her? She was a character. I got to wear braces, fall. She had such little things about her that were fun to play up. Just being a little goofy was fun,” Smollett said. “As an actor you want to do diverse roles. You want to grow. Throughout my whole career, I have been very picky.”

Smollett, who lives in Santa Monica, not only had a traditional audition for “Roll Bounce” -- she also had a skating tryout. “I used to rollerblade when I was about 6,” she said. “They brought us all to this roller rink and had us roller skate forever!

“We went around and ‘round. But it was fun. I didn’t have to do any of the roller-skating classes because they wanted me to fall and be bad on roller skates.”

Smollett doesn’t feel that she’s missed out on a “normal” childhood by being in showbiz most of her life.

“I love being on sets,” she said. “What is normal? My normal is my normal, and what is normal for someone else is their normal. Having a big family, we have so much fun. We throw parties. I have friends outside the industry. My mom has been able to keep a balance [with us] of not taking yourself too seriously.”