Jesse Metcalfe says he can't quite believe the way his life has gone lately. Although he has been a working actor since 1999, when he won a recurring role on the daytime soap opera "Passions," it was his chest-baring teen gardener stint on "Desperate Housewives" that made him a household face. Now, with "John Tucker Must Die," his first leading-man role in his first feature film, Metcalfe has graduated into the big leagues -- still playing a guy in high school.

That's slightly ironic for the handsome 27-year-old actor, since his high school days are long behind him.

"John Tucker is a rich, preppy, 17-year-old kid going to a suburban high school," Metcalfe said during a recent interview in New York City to promote the new comedy. "I think that people are really going to enjoy the film and are really going to have some fun with. I really show some comedic chops in the film. But I hope I'm not going to play high school kids after this.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that that's not the case. After this film I definitely want to do something completely different, move onto some kind of role with a little more depth and a little more complexity, preferably closer to my own age and preferably not a comedy. Hopefully it'll be a drama."

Don't get him wrong, however.Jesse Metcalfe is riding high on his relatively quick escalation into leading-man status; and he isn't exactly complaining that his co-stars, beginning with gorgeous Eva Longoria in "Desperate Housewives" and continuing with beauties Sophia Bush, Brittany Snow, and Ashanti in "John Tucker," have been some of the world's most beautiful women.

But while his high-school character in the new comedy, opening Friday July 28, is a "serial cheater," that's something the handsome actor says isn't really a part of his more grown-up life.

"I wasn't John Tucker. I was never the team captain. I wasn't the most popular guy in the school and so I resented that guy," he revealed. "I have done some John Tucker-esque things in my day, and I'd like to think that my day is not over, but right now I have a serious girlfriend and I'm happy with that.

"I mean, I've been living the bachelor lifestyle and partying and living the Hollywood lifestyle for almost eight years now," he continued. "And before that I went to college in New York City. I've done my fair share of partying and dating and I think that everyone wants some stability in life and something real. Just kind of dating around and being a bachelor, it can leave you kind of cold sometimes."

Telling his predominantly female fan base that he's taken (his girlfriend is a British musician) may not be the wisest move just as his first big flick opens, but Jesse Metcalfe feels hopeful that his fans will follow him into the multiplexes.

"Anyone that wants to go and buy a movie ticket to my movie, that's great, that's good. Come see the movie!"