BURNS, BABY, BURNS.(filmmaker and actor Edward Burns)(Interview)

Edward Burns may have hit it big, but deep down, this Irish dream is your typical babe next door. Listen in as the Sidewalks of New York star spills why he can't stop writing Jove stories--and how one supermodel stole his heart.

* When Edward Burns strolls into a popular downtown Manhattan breakfast joint, it's easy to see why he's been able to pull off the adorably down-to-earth, working-class hunks he so often portrays onscreen. His still-wet hair is peeking out from under a baseball cap, and he's sporting a simple long-sleeve polo shirt in a baby blue hue that brings out the 6-foot-1 actors amazing azure eyes. But surprisingly, the Hollywood heartbreaker doesn't summon stares. Rather, Eddie (what he likes to be called) seamlessly melds into the bustling morning crowd, grabs a seat, and apologizes for being 20 minutes late--a time frame most celebrities would consider perfectly punctual.

But make no mistake, Eddie's disarming vibe does little to temper the knee-weakening effect he has on women. When he goes to order coffee, the waitress breaks out in an ear-to-ear grin. Clearly, she's captivated, even though the familiar way in which the two interact suggests that she serves the actor frequently. The bottom line: Eddie commands attention, only in a refreshingly subtle--but very sexy--way.

It's possible his unaffected aura stems from the 33-year-old Long Island native's inability to wrap his brain around the idea that he's reached star status. This despite the fact that at the time of this interview, he is costarring with Robert De Niro in an action movie called 15 Minutes, is gracing the cover of GQ, and is engaged to a supermodel (more on that later). "You can't be any more fortunate than I am," says Eddie in his notoriously raspy voice. "My life is pretty sick."

MAKING THE A-LIST

It's taken only six years for Eddie to rise from obscurity to become an ace actor and film maker, thanks in large part to his ballsy brand of ambition. In 1995, Eddie, then a coffee-fetching production assistaut at Entertainment Tonight, persuaded his folks-Ed Burns Sr., a retired NYPD cop, and Molly, a former manager for the Federal Aviation Administration-to loan him $25,000 to finance a screenplay he'd written. The Brothers McMullen, a semi-autobiographical tale of three Irish Catholic brothers grappling with the ups and downs of love and relationships, was shot almost entirely at his parents' colonial home in suburban Valley Stream. 1-Le cast struggling New York actors willing to work for free, his then-girlfriend of seven years, Maxine Balms, and himself. That year, McMullen won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, a Killer coup that rocketed Eddie onto Hollywood's radar. "Maybe I have good karma," he theorizes.

More like a ton of talent, which he proved by churning out two more indie films in the next three years: She's the One, a comedy-drama about romance and fidelity featuring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston, and No Looking Back, a film about--you guessed it-the ever-tumultuous topic of love starring Lauren Holly and Jon Bon Jovi.