Rocker Jon Bon Jovi Building A Career In Film

PHILADELPHIA - Jon Bon Jovi enters the lives of a young widow, her sister and her best friend in the movie "Moonlight and Valentino" and the women are forever changed.

His minor spin as a hunky housepainter did more than just set female hearts aflutter: It jump-started his film career.

Bon Jovi added such a glow to the bittersweet 1995 comedy that one of his co-stars, Gwyneth Paltrow, called him "natural" and "charming." Many critics agreed. And now the rock musician's acting career is in full bloom with three upcoming films.

He had been offered the opportunity to act in the past, but felt he wasn't ready for the challenge.

"I had too much respect for the medium," he said. "I knew you had to learn the craft; you couldn't just do it. (But) as I read scripts and went to lessons to get my hands on scripts, and I started coming out of my shell personally, I was drawn to it."

Doing the music for "Young Guns" and also appearing in the movie in a cameo role finally gave him the nerve he needed.

So Bon Jovi, 35, went out and made a commitment to the craft, taking acting lessons from Harold Guskin, a prominent New York acting coach.

And now his second career is taking off, with three movies in the works:

-- "Home Grown," directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal ("Losing Isaiah," "Paris Trout"), stars John Lithgow, Billy Bob Thornton, Hank Azaria and Ryan Phillipe in a dark comedy about three guys who help run a marijuana plantation until the owner is killed by a mysterious assailant.

-- "Long Time, Nothing New," directed by Ed Burns ("The Brothers McMullen"), stars Lauren Holly, Bon Jovi and Burns. Holly and Bon Jovi are lovers until her old boyfriend, played by Burns, comes back and they have a fling.

-- "Little City," directed by Roberto Benabib, stars Annabella Sciorra, Penelope Ann Miller, Josh Charles and JoBeth Williams in a "romantic comedy" about five friends who live in San Francisco and become entangled in one another's love lives.

"Little City" is due out in September, "Home Grown" will be released in the fall and "Long Time, Nothing New" will be out next year.

"Now it's become a passion," Bon Jovi said about acting. "Now it's like a release for me; it's something to do between record projects . . . Each take of each scene is a collaboration, and that is fulfilling. You look forward to going to work each day."

He won't do what he calls "silly action movies" or something like "Ace Ventura 3." He wants roles that are "dialogue-driven."

"It doesn't have to be `hit' as much as it has to be `hip,' " he said. "It has to be a really good story, because I really don't envision myself doing those kinds of things unless it's a good story."

Still, in the midst of his hectic schedule, he found time to record his second solo album, "Destination Anywhere," a record that takes as many risks musically as he's taking with his acting.

Instead of the usual guitar-heavy sound for which he's famous, he's rooted these new songs in grooves reminiscent of hip-hop and modern rock. Guitar takes a back seat. He's swapped his usual full-throated singing for a low-key purr - at times almost a spoken-word style.

And just when you expect a song to take that trademark big Bon Jovi swell, as in "Livin' on a Prayer" or "Bed of Roses" . . . it doesn't.

Bon Jovi spent time in London working with Dave Stewart, formerly of the Eurythmics. He soaked up Brit pop like Oasis, Blur and Manic Street Preachers, and cut tracks like "Midnight in Chelsea."

While he's enjoying his new acting career, he didn't necessarily feel the same way about a recent modeling stint he did for his pal, the late Gianni Versace. He posed in the designer's rock 'n' roll-influenced duds. But modeling, he decided, was not on his list of career choices.

"I did it with the idea that nothing's safe, nothing's sacred, try things," he said. "It was fine in the moment, but I didn't get any great pleasure from (it). I did it for people that were friendly to me and the pictures looked nice."

It also had to do with sticking by your friends.

"Loyalty is a big element of the success I've had - the band being the same guys; the organization being with me forever; my wife," he said. "That factor is more important to me than anything."