William H. Macy:

Be prepared. The suicide-committing, kidnap-plotting actor (and real-life Boy Scout leader) comes clean on WWII, sex in the '60s and morality.

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hapless, kidnap-plotting car dealer in Fargo. A suicidal pornographer in Boogie Nights. A repressed '50s dad in the new movie Pleasantville. Ubiquitous character actor William H. Macy has distinguished himself by playing men whose flawed lives raise moral issues for all of us.

In his melancholy face, in the way he stutters a line, Macy humanizes despairing, imperfect people. "It's an actor's job to fall in love with his character," he says.

Macy, 48, was brought up in a home where certain moral issues were clear. His mother lost her first husband in World War II, then married a war hero (Macy's father), a medal-winning B-17 pilot. "World War II was 'the good war,' " Macy says. "They felt good about their sacrifices and moved on."

But Macy's generation became morally confused, he says. In his 20s, he was "a complete hippie" who fell for fallacies about free love. Boogie Nights, set in the '70s, was a reminder for him. "We thought sex was free. Sex is not free. There's a price to be paid emotionally, physically, even legally. Sex isn't a casual thing. It's a huge thing." (Last year, Macy married actress Felicity Huffman.)

Having appeared in countless plays and movies by writer David Mamet, including Wag the Dog, Macy says his friend helps him wrestle with moral questions. "Mamet has a brilliant line in one play: 'Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember.' "

Since his Oscar nomination for Fargo, Macy has been in such demand that he quit his role as the uptight surgery chief on TV's ER. He'll soon be seen in the Psycho remake; A Civil Action with John Travolta; and Mystery Men, in which he'll play a loser superhero. He doesn't research roles ("That's nonsense. Everything you need is on the page") because he believes human needs, emotions and foibles are universal.

"What's the difference between you and the King of England?" he asks. "Just a job description."