Forest Whitaker channels Rod Serling

By Tameka Hicks

'You are entering the Twilight Zone." Sound familiar? The classic '60s series about the unexplained and unexpected has returned on UPN (Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET) with a new look and a new host: actor-director -- and former aspiring opera singer -- Forest Whitaker, 41. We spoke with the longtime fan of the original series, who's now a consulting producer on the new one:

So, you like scary stories?
Yeah, but I'm not a fan of slasher movies. "The Exorcist" was pretty scary. Movies today don't really scare me as much.

What's your favorite "Twilight Zone" story?
One [where] a guy, all he wants is a little peace. It's with Burgess Meredith.

Yeah, and then a nuclear bomb goes off, leaving him all alone, and ...
... he's thinking, "Finally, I get enough time to read" -- then his glasses break! That was kind of cool.

Has having such an unusual name shaped your identity?
It obviously built my character, because I've lived into my name. It wasn't a common name. There's a unique quality about that. I stood on my own.

Did that independence help you switch from playing football to singing opera?
I had a [college] football scholarship and was majoring in music. I got a voice scholarship to USC. I auditioned for a play and got the lead. I started acting and stopped playing ball.

What's your favorite aria?
"Amarilli Mia Bella". [Starts singing.] It's an old Italian love song.

Wow! If you'd stuck with it, you could have outshone the "Three Tenors".
I don't know if I can sing anymore, but that's how I got my first agent. Music is pure. It's from the soul. Movies are a great part of storytelling, which is a universal language. I love telling stories. Movies get to utilize sound and music as well. That way it can be a very powerful medium.