Even the biggest fans of "Home Improvement," the long-running ABC sitcom starring Tim Allen, probably don't remember the character Greg. He had a few lines in an episode featuring Jenny McCarthy that aired in February 1999, during the show's final season.

However, ask some of the members of Old Dominion's soccer team from the late 1980s and they know all about Greg. That's because the bit part was played by their teammate, 1990 sports medicine alumnus Richard Jenik.

Jenik, though, will tell you the role was just one tiny step up a very tall career ladder. "To me it was actually nothing," he said via phone from his Beverly Hills apartment. "I've worked very hard for a very long time to be on TV for 20 seconds," he laughed.

He does understand that seeing someone you know on prime-time television is a thrill, but he is realistic about what such a part means in the career of an actor.

"It's literally just a line on my résumé now," he said. The résumé also includes a stint as a detective on the soap opera "Port Charles," as well as some limited commercial work.

After playing the Big Bad Wolf when he was only 5 and hearing the laughter of the audience, Jenik knew he would one day head for Hollywood. He also knew he needed some training before he could get there. However, his commitment to getting and keeping a soccer scholarship made involvement in theater nearly impossible. In high school he was almost kicked off the team when rehearsals for "Grease" conflicted with practice (he played the role of Sonny).

At Old Dominion, soccer paid his tuition so acting was put on hold until after graduation when Jenik went to regional theaters in Philadelphia and Seattle to study the craft. With the money he earned selling medical equipment during this period, Jenik moved to Los Angeles not quite three years ago to pursue his dream full time.

"(Jobs are) few and far between," he said. "You've got to hope you're in the right place at the right time." And have the right look and schedule and connections - it takes a lot of luck to break into the business, as well as a great deal of perseverance, he noted.

A member of the Screen Actors Guild, Jenik now has an agent, although the "Home Improvement" gig came as a result of his own networking - he met the casting director and was asked to read. The audition was brief, about three to five minutes, and consisted of "acting in a small room in front of some fairly well-known producers." His work on the set also was fleeting. "I don't even consider that acting. You just go in and deliver your lines, complement the stars and keep the scene rolling," he said.

Although Allen and company were friendly, introducing themselves to Jenik and the other actors, the experience wasn't all business as usual. "I was definitely nervous," Jenik admitted. "We shot in front of a live audience, which was an invaluable learning experience."

Jenik now has a new reason to be nervous - his best friends, the very teammates he played alongside at Old Dominion, have put out a contract on him. If his big break comes in the next 12 years, the contract, which was scribbled on a napkin, calls for Jenik to buy a house on a golf course where he, all his buddies and their wives can go to hang out.

Jenik says he's up to the challenge. "I haven't even scratched the surface of where I want to be. I feel like I'm closer - like I'm one audition away from booking a television series or a feature film . . . . I'm going to make it no matter how long it takes."

- Elizabeth V. Harders