People: Mar. 4, 1985

His half brother Ron works for NBC radio; his half sister Patti sings and acts; his mother Jane Wyman stars on TV's Falcon Crest; and his father's performances draw landslides of applause. So it seemed only natural when Michael Reagan, 39, recently decided to become an actor. The President's adopted son had been doing endorsement commercials in connection with his first passion, boat racing, and liked it so much he is taking classes with Acting Coach Rick Walters, whose pupils include Barbi Benton and Priscilla Presley. And what is the reaction of the leading man in the White House? "Dad and Nancy think it's great," reports Reagan, who adds that he finally followed the family's thespian tradition because he is "comfortable with who I am now. I wasn't 20 years ago."