Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

The oh-so-sexy Taye Diggs reports he's looking forward to toning down his own heat in ABC's new fall series, "Private Practice," the highly anticipated spin-off from the network's megahit "Grey's Anatomy."

"I don't necessarily have to be smooth or debonair or quote-unquote sexy," says the Broadway star whose penchant for showing off his finely, chiseled body in such films as "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "The Best Man" and "Brown Sugar" has resulted in his very name becoming a pop culture reference for hot. Case in point: The actor, listed last year on People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive list, was even brought up in a "Smallville" episode. One actress asked another actress to tell her what a guy looked like on a scale of "one to Taye Diggs." OK, ladies, collective sigh!

"I like that I get to explore a side of Taye Diggs that a lot of people don't see," he says of his role as medical celebrity/author Dr. Jackson "Sam" Bennett on the show, adding that series creator/writer Shonda Rimes "is interesting enough to go to those places that actors themselves don't necessarily like to go to, the insecure side, the kind of nerdy side… The side that's a little bit more fun to act."

Of course, if Rimes's Sept. 26-debuting "Private Practice" follows the same suit as "Grey's Anatomy," we'll more than likely be seeing some skin. At this point, however, Diggs says it's too early in the game for him to even know what's up with his character. "I'm finding it out right now, it's unfolding as we work," says Diggs. "When we started, everything was under wraps, top secret, then you read the script, and after you have to make immediate choices, so I'm kind of figuring the character out as we go along." Be that as it may, he adds, "I have an amazing trust in Shonda. I'm a huge fan, so whereever she's going to take the character I'm going to be right in line, right in tune and on the same page with her."

THE VIDEOLAND VIEW: Swimsuit model and one-time WWE diva Lauren Jones insists she takes her journalistic duties as responsibly as any other TV newsperson in her Aug. 22-debuting FOX comedy/reality hybrid, "Anchorwoman." The upcoming scripted/unscripted show has aroused complaints and more as the curvaceous Jones set out in skintight clothes to report the news for Tyler, Texas station KYTX. She says of the controversy, "I welcome it and I'm excited about the different responses — good and bad.

I don't think I'm doing anything that's not been done before. What's really been happening that's new?" she asks. "We've seen beauty pageant contestants and models do the news before. And it's not like they just put me in front of a camera. I went through a boot camp to train."

She wound up covering a "wide spectrum" of stories, she says. There's soft stuff, like featuring the "beautiful Bengal tigers" that proved to be a highlight of the community's summer fare. And there is harder material, like a 16-year-old boy being hit by a drunk driver. "There was blood everywhere," she recalls. "It was very difficult. You have to put on a different face. It was very emotional to get through it and continue to keep that professionalism."

An image comes to mind of a kid lying on the road potentially paralyzed, and the cleavage-flaunting cutie there with her camera team exploiting the moment for a joke reality show.

"Absolutely not," counters Jones. "It was no joke. I approached it as seriously any other journalist would, with as high a degree of professionalism."

We'll see.

THE MORALE OF THE STORY: "Dexter" fans were hoping to see it come away with an Emmy nomination, but like many of Showtime's series it wound up being overlooked. However, cast member David Zayas says it certainly hasn't affected the mood on set. "It's always nice to be recognized, but my personal opinion of it is if you do get nominated, to me, that's a luxury — a bonus. Of course there is initial disappointment, but it has not changed the morale of the show." He adds, "I believe that if Showtime continues to put up good shows, then eventually what will come, will come." The Michael C. Hall series about a forensics analyst/serial killer has its second season premiere Sept. 30.

SWORD TO HATCHET: Kevin Sorbo tells us that once he's wrapped the big-screen "Hunting and Fishing" spoof of "The 300," he'll be doffing his sandals and tunic and putting on a suit for "Hatchet Man," a comedy set in a modern corporate office. "I play the guy who gets Matt LeBlanc's character hired. He's the hotshot," says Kevin. "It's a busy time. I have a couple of other things in the pipeline — one for the end of the year, in Florida. Another movie that looks like it will go in January or February." Ironically, considering all his film work, the former "Hercules" and "Andromeda" star has been hoping to get back to the regularity of doing a TV series so he can stick close to his family — wife Sam and their offspring, Braedon, 6, Shane, 3, and Octavia, 1.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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