Actor Joe Pantoliano was on hand at the State Theatre last night to screen his new film Canvas -- a story about a troubled family affected by mental illness.

Pantoliano has acted in many films including The Matrix and Memento and made his landmark role in The Sopranos, but he says he wants this film to be bigger than his name.

"I'll admit, when I first picked up this role, I wanted to show a different side than what you usually see from me. I had selfish intentions. Then I found that 70 to 80 percent of those involved in the production knew someone affected by the illness," Pantoliano said.

The Emmy winner said from that point on he tried to get the real message across, reiterating the prevalence of mental illness across the world. He said he wants to de-stigmatize mental illness and get people to open up and talk about their own problems.

"I want to make it sexy to talk about things like this. I would rather see Britney Spears say she's bipolar rather than an alcoholic in rehab just because it's more socially acceptable," Pantoliano said.

The independent film, which is director Joseph Greco's first feature length, tells the story of the Marino family. Dad (Pantoliano) is a carpenter trying to make ends meet, and Mom (Marcia Gay Harden) is struck with schizophrenia. The son (Devon Gearhart) is caught in the middle trying to make sense of everything around him in an attempt to make everything normal.

Pantoliano made it clear to the 150 attendees that his involvement in this issue doesn't end with the film. He's presented at various festivals and colleges in order to raise money to further distribute the film and spread awareness.

"This movie is the little engine that could, but it doesn't have a chance playing in huge multiplexes .... the

point here is to educate. This is the only film I've ever worked on that I know people are walking out of the theater and writing checks to advance the distribution," Pantoliano said.

State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, was also present to push the agenda for healthcare insurance companies to start covering treatment for mental illness. He reiterated what has been said before about this film.

"From what I've seen in my days as a criminal justice advisory, this is a perfect example of a case study for how a family can be affected by mental illness," Conklin said.

As he himself grew up dealing with dyslexia, Pantoliano said he has always had a focus in educating others and has even brought that mindset to the classrooms at Penn State. The actor presented yesterday and will continue today presenting to the College of Arts and Architecture in what he calls "Showbiz 101."

"I'm teaching students how to lobby and promote themselves. As an actor you're going into a room full of strangers and you say how you can make a role better, and they don't teach that in school," Pantoliano said.