If Oded Fehr, who played the dashing, raven-tressed Medjai warrior Ardeth Bay in The Mummy and its hit sequel, seemed to come out of nowhere, it's probably because he did. "Before I auditioned for The Mummy in London," recalls the Tel Aviv-born actor over breakfast at his favorite Israeli-owned cafe in Beverly Hills, "I had done one day on a couple of television shows and one month of a play, so I thought, There's no way I'm going to get a big Hollywood movie."

Fehr not only ended up with a big Hollywood movie, he got a big Hollywood career. For his follow-up role, as a swarthy stud-for-hire in the sleeper hit comedy Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School graduate moved from London to L.A. After taking small roles in the TV movies Cleopatra and Arabian Nights and a bit part in the yet-to-be-released Western Texas Rangers, the international man of mystery hopped back into the saddle as Ardeth Bay in the monster hit The Mummy Returns. He now has a devoted fan base (this guy has dozens of Web sites honoring him), which will only increase in the fall when he stars in the new NBC drama series "UC: Undercover".

Oded Fehr gained tremendous heat in Hollywood when he played a mysterious desert dweller in The Mummy movies. Now that charisma will be put to the test weekly as he stars in the new NBC drama "UC: Undercover."

DENNIS HENSLEY: You've cut your hair since The Mummy Returns. Did you like having long hair? ODED FEHR: It was a strong look, but when my hair was really long, people were scared of me because I looked like a terrorist or a drug dealer. I'd walk down the street and people would offer me drugs.
Q: I heard that you wanted a girlfriend in The Mummy Returns. A: I told the director Steve Sommers, "Ardeth needs to have a love interest." So he gave me a bird.
Q: How many times did that bird relieve himself on you? A: At least 10 times.
Q: After the first Mummy came out, did you get all kinds of offers for similar projects? A: Some, but my feeling was that I needed to do something that was different in order to break out. If I did another role like Ardeth Bay, it would be hard for people to see me do anything else. It's a very scary thing to say no to stuff when you haven't worked for a long time, but it was obvioulsy worth it, because "Undercover" is a great opportunity.
Q: What kind of character do you play?" A: A federal agent, sort of the head honcho of this special unit.
Q: Where were you when you found out you got the part in the first Mummy? A: In the supermarket. Al of a sudden, my cell phone rang ans I heard this American voice say, "Hi, this is Megan speaking. I've got Stephen Sommers for you." And I was thinking Stephen Sommers? Who's Stephen Sommers? I'm terriible with names. I was about to ask, "Who's Stephen Sommers?" but I didn't thank God. Then I realized there's only one person that could be calling me from the States.
Q: Did you ever consider being an actor when you were growing up? A: No. It was definately much later. I was always very practical and never felt that acting was a good job to be in. I moved to Germany and tried to start a marketing business with my father, but it just didn't thrill me. Then I started a very simple drama course in Frankfurt and I got to do this play. Next I auditioned for drama school in Bristol, England and I was there for three years.
Q: Was it a full-time school? A: Oh, completely. On the holidays, I'd go to Germany, where I used to work security for the Israeli airlines at the airport.
Q: What's the scariest thing you ever came across? A: I never had to deal with a bomb, thank God.
Q: Was coming to Hollywood a childhood dream? A: I never had too many expectations of Hollywood because I never really wanted to get here. That was never my dream.
Q: You have quite a few fan sites on the Web. Have you visited them? A: Yeah. It's like having little spies everywhere.
Q: Who's been your most suprising fan" A: I'm always suprised when somebody comes up to me. The nicest compliment came when I was sitting right outside this cafe, and this car comes by, stops, the window rolls down and this guy goes, "Hey, man! You make us Middle Easterners proud." It means a lot that my family and people in Israel are proud of me, but the fact that other people in the Middle East, like Egyptians or Arabs, would feel that I portrayed an Arab character well and made them proud, that's huge. It's great that they managed to forget that I'm Israeli and they're Arab and they still love what I did.
Q: Do you remember the first movie you saw in a theater? A: Rocky was my first experience at the drive-in in Tel Aviv and it was a huge, huge deal for me.
Q: What were you like in high school? A: I grew up being a very shy kid, and then I broke out in the 10th grade and was relatively popular. I didn't date a lot of girls. My first girlfriend and I were together for, like, five years. I'm more of a long-term relationship type of guy. I was never big on dating 100 different girls.
Q: Who were your movie star crushes growing up? A: I used to think Meryl Streep was unbelievable. And Michelle Pfeiffer and Kim Basinger. So beautiful.
Q: Your wife, Rhonda Tollefson, is Sean Connery's producing partner. You must get great messages on your machine at home from him. A: In the beginning, it was funny because he's this huge icon and his voice is so distinct. I'm usually never starstruck, but when I first met him on the set of Finding Forrester, I must say that I felt a little bit nervous.
Q: Where did you meet your wife? A: At the opera. When we tell poeple that, they have this beautiful image of us sitting in opposite boxes and seeing each other through the opera glasses and falling in love at first sight. But it wasn't like that. After the show, there was a dinner and we ended up sitiing next to each other. I really liked her and I think she really liked me, but she's in the business and she always told herself that she was never going to date an actor. So I wasn't pushing too hard. We dated here and there and then a girlfriend of hers broke the ice by taking her aside and going "What's wrong with you" He's a nice guy."
Q: Before Deuce Bigalow, you shot a small part as a bad guy in the much-delayed Texas Rangers. A: My scene was so small they might have cut it out because after I left, they called back and they wanted me to play a bigger role but I couldn't do it.
Q: What kind of part would you like to do that you haven't done yet? A: I'd love to do Shakespeare on a London stage. When I entered drama school, Shakespeare was like Chinese to me. It took three years to get to a place where i could actually perform in that language.
Q: Since this is our Style issue, what was your most regrettable fashion era? A: The 80's were just horrible. I don't know how it happened. I wore acid-wash jeans and this Michael Jackson jacket that was absolutely horrific. I never did the glove thing, but close to it.
Q: What kind of clothes do you like to see on a woman? A: I'm not much for very short tight things. I usually like more elegant, classy clothes. A turtleneck and skirt are nice.
Q: What's your favorite part of your job" A: I just love the job itself. When you're actually in front of a camera, creating something, it's the most fulfilling job. Just being butch all day, shooting guns and riding a horse and talking in a deep voice, is fun in itself.