Meet 7th Heaven's Junior Hottie

Look out, Barry Watson. You're so old school. A new male heartthrob is taking over on 7th Heaven! Well, a heartthrob-in-training, anyway. Executive producer Brenda Hampton likes to joke that "the puberty fairy was extraordinarily good to" Scotty Leavenworth, who plays Peter. But will he ever live down that puberty quote?

"Everybody goes through that," the 13-year-old Californian tells TV Guide Online. "It's a normal thing." In fact, Leavenworth loves the idea of making fans all swoony. Laughing, he says, "I have no problem with it!"

The young actor — whose credits include Erin Brockovich and The Green Mile — teaches viewers a grown-up lesson on tonight's 7th Heaven. He says his character, Peter, "does something he shouldn't." Well, if he won't spill, we will: Peter's caught drinking alcohol with his friends — and there'll be serious consequences for it.

Aside from that, what's the scoop on Leavenworth and co-star Mackenzie Rosman, who plays Ruthie? "On the show, she's more like a girlfriend," he says of Rosman, also 13. "But in real life, we're just really good friends." By the way, he's also buddy-buddy with Julia Roberts' 13-year-old niece, Emma. "She is really nice. We hang out all the time." However — for those of you just dying to know — he confirms he's single.

One more thing: Now that he's heading towards manhood, isn't it about time to change his moniker from Scotty to Scott? It makes him sound like a tot! "I don't know if I'll change my name for a while," he says. "I don't mind it. Everybody's been calling me Scotty for a long time."