LL Cool J: Cool As L

Actor James Todd Smith. Rapper LL Cool J. Whichever. You'd just better not sell him short.

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"You're my first a.k.a.," I say, in the sexiest voice I can muster.

The big man looks me up and down. "I seriously doubt that," he says, his voice as smooth as silk. Then he laughs his killer laugh. And why shouldn't James Todd Smith be laughing? The world is his. Whether he's in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans as LL Cool J or on screen in a raft of films as James Todd Smith, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. Or platinum.

Smith comes bounding into the Peninsula hotel on Fifth Avenue, his loopy smile leading the way. He's wearing a bright red Kansas City Chiefs hat, a throwback Chiefs jersey (#16, Len Dawson, who led the Chiefs to victory in the 1970 Super Bowl, and no, he's not a Chiefs fan, he just likes the color), a Corum watch, diamond earrings as big as my nipples, silver dog tags encrusted with diamonds and a wedding ring that looks like brass knuckles edged with--what else?--diamonds. His body is boxer-hard, with tattoos sneaking out from his shirt sleeves.

Smith might not be the first rapper to achieve movie fame, but after more than 20 roles--ranging from Toys to Deep Blue Sea to Charlie's Angels to S.W.A.T.--he's proven to be bankable, hard-working and eminently likable. In his new film, Mindhunters, he plays a Philadelphia homicide detective who's sent to a remote island with a group of FBI agents to be trained in tracking serial killers. When one of the agents turns out to be a killer, they have to use their skills to figure out who it is and stop him.

The film, directed by Renny Harlin, also stars Val Kilmer, Christian Slater and Jonny Lee Miller. It's the second time Smith has worked with Harlin; their first film, Deep Blue Sea, was a surprise hit. And if Smith is right, this one will be, too.

"It's a popcorn movie, for sure," he says earnestly. "Scary, smart--it gave me the willies when I saw it."

Then the waiter comes by to see if we want anything. "Do you have potatoes?" Smith asks.

The waiter nods. "Baked?" Smith asks. Yessir. "Okay, then, I'd like a baked potato, without butter or sour cream."

"If you eat potatoes at the right time," he says, turning to me, "they soak the water out from under your skin and tighten it up."

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