Explosive Tommy Lee Jones cools it.

When asked which was more explosive, Tommy Lee Jones or a volcano, director Mick Jackson answered.

He said there was thought given to an ad campaign that boasted: "Tommy Lee Jones IS the volcano."

At 50, the intense, hugely gifted Jones has an Oscar for "The Fugitive," an Emmy for "The Executioner's Song" and stars in two of this season's event movies, "Volcano" and "Men in Black" (due July 2).

He's never had a period in his lengthy career when he's been so hot _ and this summer he begins work on what looks like another blockbuster, his "Fugitive" spinoff "U.S. Marshals," with Wesley Snipes as the bad guy.

Yet there remains with Jones an intimidating reputation.

As his "Volcano" co-star Don Cheadle remarks, "Before I made this movie, people would just say 'Tommy Lee Jones' and . . ." Cheadle makes a shivering motion.

But there was the time Jones  slugged a dresser backstage at the Public Theater in Manhattan when he was doing a play; the incident when, irritated by a question, he threw a chair and walked away from a press table during publicity for "JFK"; the comments from director Joel Schumacher of how during "Batman Forever" Jones was cruel to co-star Jim Carrey. Jones' response: "I don't have any response at all."

In "Volcano" Jones is not just a can-do city emergency troubleshooter who manages to save thousands of lives in Los Angeles when a highly unexpected volcanic disaster strikes, he is also a divorced father with a teenager (Gaby Hoffmann). That situation mirrors his real-life situation, as a recently divorced dad with a 14-year-old son.

Was this divorce the toughest thing he's been through?

"That's a bit personal," he replies in his best down-home Texas accent.

How does such a guarded man exist in the Hollywood limelight?

"I live in the country," he says. "The people in my hometown are very much like family, and we're close and take care of each other.

"And nobody asks me questions about privacy."

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

DISCLAIMER; The opinions expressed in these articles in no way reflect the opinions of the webmistress. They are merely articles found in various newspapers, magazines and on the internet etc. worldwide. They were already out there before you saw them here.