Playing to Win

Joshua Bell has the looks to be a superstar. People magazine named him one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” and Glamour called him one of the six “It Men of the Millennium.”

But Bell does not appear in the movies (except as a body double, and not because of his hunk status), has no recordings on the pop charts and does not tread down fashion runways. He’s a classical violinist whose work has garnered critical praise around the globe. At age 33, Bell already has a more than two-decade history of soloing with the world’s great orchestras, and several composers have written works for him to play on his 1732 Stradivari violin. His recordings have ranged from classical mainstays to a bluegrass-inspired CD with Mike Marshall and Sam Bush.

Bell played the Oscar-winning score to “The Red Violin”--the 1998 film in which he body-doubled for the violinist--and his latest CD, to be released in June, is of music by Leonard Bernstein including a suite from “West Side Story.” He lives in a New York City loft.

DESKTOP: I’ve got a Dell 1.4-gig desktop with a 64-megabyte graphics card, and it’s connected to a 50-inch plasma TV monitor with six-speaker sound. I use it for games--when I play “Quake” the whole place shakes. I have two other desktops, and everything is networked wirelessly so that I can have friends over to play games.

The setup is over the top, but it’s one of the few things I allow myself to go all out on.

Q. Were you always a gamer?

I grew up in Bloomington, Ind., where there was a local video arcade that posted record scores for the games. At one time when I was in high school, I held several of the records. I was really addicted--I spent more time there than I did practicing the violin.

Q. You’re not bothered by repetitive-motion injuries?

I’m pretty lucky. There were times my wrist would start to hurt, but then I would just quit.

LAPTOP: A Dell Inspiron. I’m on the road most of the time, so this is basically my main computer. It’s kind of a behemoth for a laptop, but I cart it around because it has a lot of power and a heavy-duty graphics card that’s good for games. I’m constantly looking for the latest thing--I replace it every six months or so.

I hate to admit it, but before laptops had powerful enough graphics cards for games I would bring a desktop along on the road. I kid you not. I would bring along a flat panel screen wrapped in bubble wrap.

I play mostly “Quake” and “Unreal” online--when I’m traveling in the States, a high-speed connection is one of the necessary things for me when they book me hotels. In Europe, they have not caught on as much, yet.

Q. Do you tell people with whom you game online what you do for a living?

No. There is a friend in Los Angeles who knows, but the vast majority don’t. They just know me as a gamer. When “Duke Nukem” was popular, I was known as the Nukester.

Q. You do a lot of e-mailing?

I can’t remember how I lived without it. It’s the way I communicate with everyone--I just checked into my hotel room here in London and the first thing I did was hook up the computer and check e-mail. It’s the way I keep in touch with friends, family, business associates.

Q. From your Web site [https://www.joshuabell.com], fans can send you e-mail.

Yes. I love to get it, especially from far-off places like South Africa where I just played concerts. But getting all that e-mail is both a blessing and a curse. I’m not able to answer them all, and I don’t like other people answering for me. The worst would be to just send them a form letter. I recently hired a new personal assistant, and we are figuring out a way to deal with it.

HAND-HELD: I have a Palm VII, which I use as kind of a supplement to my laptop. I check my flights on the way to the airport or stock quotes. I have two cell phones--one for the U.S. and one for Europe--and it would be nice if they could be combined with the PDA.

BOOKMARKED SITES: I am always going to the Internet Movie Database [https://www.imdb.com] to look up things about movies and TV and check the comments people put there. But I don’t post comments myself.

There was a time when I traded stocks online several times a day, but then I lost all my money.

Q. Really, all of it?

A big percentage. I like to gamble a bit, and all my portfolio was in tech stocks. But I didn’t do anything on margin and I am working, so it’s OK. Also, most of my assets are tied up in my violin, worth several million. Luckily, that wasn’t touched.

Q. Do you look around the Web to see if there are postings about you?

No. When you enter your own name in a search engine--I call it ego surfing--you do it at your own peril. Inevitably, you will find people who think you suck and rumors that aren’t true. Not to mention a picture of me that was doctored.

Q. Are we talking nude?

Yes. They pasted my face on someone else’s body. My girlfriend of the time could have attested to the fact that it wasn’t me.

FAVORITE TECH TOY: I record for Sony and have hinted strongly that I would like a PlayStation 2, but I’m still waiting for it. Actually, I prefer computer games--they are a little more sophisticated, a little less arcade-like. But I’m looking forward to the new Xbox.

--As told to DAVID COLKER