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WITH millions of record sales and a sex god reputation, you'd think singer Justin Timberlake would be quite happy with his lot.

But not content with conquering the music charts, the SexyBack singer and former boyfriend of Britney Spears has his heart set on taking Hollywood by storm.

The 25-year-old star has just landed the lead role in gritty new movie Alpha Dog, one of three films he'll be seen in this year.

Not surprisingly, the multi-talented popstar turned actor is thrilled with his new career direction.

"I'm really inspired by acting," he enthuses. "Why spend time doing something that I'm not really inspired to do? I don't know if that sounds sort of New Agey or whatever, but it's true. I've been really lucky to have a musical career that has gone pretty good and acting is something I've always wanted to do."

Justin joins an esteemed cast in Alpha Dog, including Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis, but the actor admits he wasn't fazed by working alongside his veteran A-list co-stars.

"When I came onto the film all the other actors were probably not looking forward to having to deal with me, but I wasn't worried about it and I just showed up to work the same as everybody else.

"I wanted to be a player in the film," he explains. "If you go in with the right intentions then the outcome ends up okay."

It's hardly surprising though that the star is taking it all in his stride - after all, he's been performing from the age of 13 when he became a Mouseketeer in the US-based TV show The Mickey Mouse Club, alongside Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears.

At the age of 15 he became a poster boy for millions of girls when he joined the hugely successful American boy band *NSYNC, but insists all that early fame went right over his head.

"I was always so removed from it all," he says with a shrug. "I always cared so much about what I did that stuff didn't really register. It can mess with your mind a little bit when you're a teenager and not equipped to deal with all the attention but I learned very quickly that the more I didn't pay attention to it, the more I realised what a soap opera it was and you have to remove yourself from it, otherwise it will drive you completely insane.

"My parents instilled in me the mindset of always being humble, so I'd like to believe that all the teen idol stuff went in one ear and out the other. Now when I'm on the red carpet I'm there to do a job, but it's the coolest job in the world," he adds with a disarming grin.

His level-headed attitude seems to be in sharp contrast with his troubled ex-girlfriend Britney who has just left rehab following her now famous head-shaving episode.

Though Justin is said to have offered support to his fragile ex, he won't confirm rumours that they will record a duet together. Neither is the modest star particularly forthcoming about his reputation as one of the sexiest singers on the planet.

And despite dating a string of beauties including Britney, Cameron Diaz and Scarlett Johansson, the Tennessee-born star reckons he's still clueless about the opposite sex.

"I haven't really learned anything about women," he says with an embarrassed smile. "I'm still a man so I have some kind of learning disability, and women wouldn't have us any other way."

Justin becomes much more open when discussing Alpha Dog, a movie which will show fans a very different side to him.

In the film, based on a true-life story, Justin stars as Frankie Ballenbacher - a rich LA kid who gets caught up in a botched drug deal, resulting in a deadly kidnapping.

Though the movie portrays an amoral and deeply disturbing world, Justin admits he relished the chance to show fans his darker side.

"It's a tough movie to watch," he says, "But this is as close to what happened as we felt like we could make it. I don't think it's repulsive, the point was to reveal the truth.

"I think these kids thought what they were doing was fun and cool and I don't feel any of them thought about what was going to happen. They just wanted to be cool and they kept going with it. The movie is about bad parenting and loss of perspective because of bad parenting."

With two more movies lined up, Black Snake Moan and Shrek 3, it looks as if Justin might have to start juggling his highly successful singing career - he's just embarked on a six-month concert tour - with his newfound movie success. However, the busy star denies he's a workaholic.

"You have to offset all that activity with doing nothing at all and I'm pretty good at that," Justin says with a laugh. "I seek complete silence and time on my own, or if I'm not working I always do something that's fun and relaxing."

And despite a career that just seems to be getting better and better, the unassuming star says the things that make him truly happy have nothing to do with work success.

"My priorities are my relationship with my mom, my family, my peace of mind, my friendships and my career - in that order," he says with a satisfied grin.

12:06pm Friday 20th April 2007

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