If it is possible, the Rock is about to get even cooler.

The charismatic athlete-turned-actor, born Dwayne Johnson, delivers big laughs in the current release "Be Cool," cast as a physically imposing Los Angeles bodyguard who dreams of becoming a professional entertainer.

In a role he was born to play, the 6’4 ½ inch, 290 pound star of "The Scorpion King," "The Rundown," "Walking Tall" and the upcoming "Doom" nearly steals the cinematic sequel to "Get Shorty" from returning leading man John Travolta. The Rock administrates a potent series of comic smack-downs on unsuspecting audiences by playing a proudly gay character.

"Actors wait for that role where they can be fearless on screen and for me that was this role," said the Rock, 32, during a recent MGM film junket held in Los Angeles for this smart, funny and highly entertaining motion picture.

"I saw an opportunity to play a guy who was conflicted in a world he didn’t want to be in and still at the same time felt like he had something to offer through song and through dance," he said.

Veteran crime novelist Elmore Leonard wrote "Get Shorty" as a satirical response to the shabby treatment that he and his novels received from Hollywood over the years. He was so happy with the 1995 film adaptation directed by Barry Sonnenfeld that he decided to revisit the central character of Chili Palmer in "Be Cool."

Published in 1999, the sequel follows the suave East Coast loan shark-turned-movie producer played by Travolta as he ventures into the even shadier music business in Los Angeles. One of the potentially dangerous characters Chili encounters is aspiring actor Elliot Wilhelm, a half African-American, half Samoan tough guy who would rather sing and dance then bust heads and break legs.

Leonard specifically created that role in the book using the Rock as the template. Long before the record holding, six time World Wrestling Federation Champion initially impressed movie audiences with his brief but undeniable screen presence in "The Mummy Returns" in 2001, the somewhat prescient Leonard recognized the inherent cinematic possibilities in the Rock’s persona, and even included a running joke about Elliot being able to lift one eyebrow for dramatic purposes.

"I love self-deprecating humor and I did take this role specifically to get away from the action genre," admitted the Rock who wears a tight Afro and a playful goatee in "Be Cool."

The Rock said he personally connected with the character of Elliot by drawing things from his own life.

"Here is this aspiring actor – that was me five years ago. Here is a guy who doesn’t have any money – that was me eight years ago. "

The Rock doesn’t believe his fans, either from the world of wrestling or film, are going to turned off by the fact he is playing a gay man.

"I think my fans are going to be very supportive."

He also doesn’t believe he will receive any flak from the gay community for his portrayal of a strong, proud, gay man.

"I didn’t want to turn anything into a mockery or a "Saturday Night Live" skit. I wanted to play this as straight as I possibly could, no pun intended.

"My intent was to play a guy who wanted to make it, who I could connect with and who just happened to be gay. If you didn’t like it, he would be happy to kick somebody’s bootie."

The Rock raises his signature eyebrow at a journalist when his character is referred to as stupid.

"I don’t think Eliot is a stupid man. He is earnest and he is genuine. That is the reality of Hollywood and the entertainment business. There are aspiring actors who will drop a monologue on the drop of a dime. "

The Rock says his favorite scene in the movie is when his character auditions by delivering a monologue from the 2000 teen flick "Bring It On," enacting a heated confrontation between two rival female cheerleaders from opposite sides of the tracks."

Decked out in fancy cowboy drag, the Rock also enthusiastically performs his rendition of the Loretta Lynn classic "You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)" in a sincerely campy music video.

"One of my favorite movies is "Coal Miner’s Daughter" and I know Sissy Spacek sang her own songs in that (screen biography of Loretta Lynn). So "You Ain’t Woman Enough" makes sense (in context) because Elliott is a gay man (probably) singing to another gay man."

The Rock admitted he had never really sang before, and certainly not in movies. " I drive my family and friends crazy when I sing (at home) but I think I am going to win Grammys."

He made music of another kind mixing it up with co-star Vince Vaughn, who steps into the colorful role of Raji, a slimy talent manager who acts and dresses like a black pimp.

"Vince Vaughn is actually one of the few actors in Hollywood who is taller than I am, so he is all of 6’5. Our director, F. Gary Gray had given us a lot of leeway in the scenes to improvise and adlib and just go for it.

" In one particular scene I had enough of Vince using derogatory terms calling Elliot names and I stopped the car and we started running around the car. It was great for me because all I had to do was sell-it in my face and I had no idea what Vince was going to say. From his ad-libs of ‘twinkle, twinkle,’ to ‘you got to stop hatin’ and start participatin,’’ to the dance that he did, Vince is great."

As for working with Travolta, the Rock credits the star of "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease and "Pulp Fiction" with being the coolest guy on this movie set.

" He is timeless," said the Rock.

" John is such a warm guy and supportive. He is an icon and working with him was a thrill and a pleasure. It is interesting how quickly his character, Chili Palmer, could take me down in the film."

The Rock admits there are certainly similarities between the world of professional wrestling and that of the movie and recording business.

"There is a seedy underbelly to the wrestling business, to the movie world to the music business as well. We poke fun at it in "Be Cool," but the reality of it is that is true."

Concerning his current disconnection to the wrestling world, the Rock had this to say.

"Contractually, my WWE contract came and went last year but I sure hope the door is always open."

Before filming on "Be Cool" concluded the Rock had an opportunity to meet Elmore Leonard, the man responsible for creating a fictional character using his personal details.

"I did ask him, ‘So where did the gay part come in?’ and his reply was, ‘I thought that would be interesting.’"

Truth be told, fans of The Rock may recall he has assumed a fake gay persona both in his autobiography - where he claimed to have lost his virginity to a guy at the age of 14 - and on other public occasions, which sources say is his way of dealing with his over-the-top macho image.

Only time will tell if his "Be Cool" catchphrase " "Whoo, scorchin’" - accompanied by a sassy butt slap - will ever replace "Can you guess what the Rock is cookin’?"