KA: "He's still no saint, but at 26 this young Hollywood superstar has put temptation behind him and taken on the role of leading man. Currently on the big screen in the movies, movies such as Murder In The FIrst, Bed Of Roses, this former wild-child and brat-packer is learning to chose his characters more carefully. In Australia to promote his latest film Broken Arrow, Christian Slater plays an action hero opposite John Travolta's bad boy."

KA: "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Christian Slater."

Much applause from the live audience.

KA: "Well Christian you can tell you're not even popular."

CS: "Yeah, right...it's very...how many people are there?"

KA: "Hundreds and thousands." (Laughter from the audience).

CS: "There's hundreds and thousands right here too."

KA: "Welcome to Midday, welcome to Australia, I know it's a whirlwind visit for you and you are here, as I mentioned to talk about Broken Arrow. Now all your years of acting this is your first action hero role. Why has it taken so long?"

CS: "Um, well, I don't know really, I guess I've gotten the opportunity to play all sorts of different kinds of roles, a lot of off-beat types of characters, this is the first action movie that really, I suppose, appealed to me, that I thought was going to be really exciting and gave me an opportunity to work with a director that I really respect."

KA: "And also your co-star John Travolta, now we on the other side of Hollywood just assume all you stars are really pally and know each other so well, it is always like that?"

CS: "Yeah, we have one big house, me, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Ethan Hawke, Johnny Depp, all those guys. We all sort of ...we each have our own room, which is nice but ah, at the beginning of the day we all wake up and Tom Cruise has a little ceremony and we all sort of sit around and you know, pray and worship and that sort of thing."

KA: (Laughing) "I want to know who pays the bills?"

CS: "Are you taking me seriously on this?"

KA: "How did you first meet John Travolta then?"

CS: "Actually I met him when I was about 8 years old, my mother knew some people who were working on the movie Grease and she took me to the set one day and I went over and watched them shoot a little bit of the carnival scene of that film. So I went over and said hi and shook his hand, you know. Sweet guy."

KA: "Was John Travolta an idol of yours in those days?"

CS: "Yes, certainly, actually I think one of the first dates I had was actually going to see the premiere of "Staying Alive."

KA: "Did John Travolta, by the way, on the set of your new movie Broken Arrow maybe give you some dance tips?"

CS: "Give me some dance tips? Um, actually I think the most amount of time we spent together was I suppose in the boxing ring and in the cockpit, when we were shooting those scenes because they took so long to shoot because there was all those special effects involved, he taught me a little bit of the hand jive, you know, from the movie, so that's all we really could do, was do like, hand moves, that sort of thing, but yeah it was very helpful."

KA: "What sort hand jives, remind me, I can't remember that far back."

"Well you know from the movie, it's like everybody...oh god, I don't know..like that type of thing (doing hand moves) and all that malarky, so that's pretty much what we were doing every day on the set."

KA: "With your career, as you mentioned, you mother was an agent in Hollywood, and you started very young, what are you first memories of working in television and/or on film.?"

CS: "I did..the first thing I actually did do was a Pampers commerical, but as far as that really being a memory, I'm not too clear about, my mother sort of reminded me of what that was like. I think the first memory I really have is working on a soap opera called "One Life To Live."

KA: "Did you enjoy those days or is acting something you always wanted to do or you just did because it was the only job you had?"

CS: "No, I think it was something that I always wanted to do. I had a father that was in the business so I used to go with him backstage when he was doing theatre, and it looked like so much fun that I thought it was something that I would really want to be a part of."

KA: "The drugs and alcohol scene in Hollywood is a pretty extraordinary one, have you experienced a lot of changes in that way?"

CS: "I've been lucky, I mean, that the past few years to have, I suppose sidestepped a lot of that stuff, all that stuff is available, um.."

KA: "You took over the role in "Interview With The Vampire" after River Phoenix tragically died, how did you feel about that death?"

CS: "Well it was very uncomfortable, it was certainly a very sad thing to have had happen, and of course you never want a role to be given to you in that type of situation, so sure, it was a little uncomfortable, but everybody that was involved in the film and the cast and the crew were very, very supportive, so it made it much easier."

KA: "I am just curious Christian, what do you have in your hand?"

CS: "I quit smoking about ten months ago and this is my new habit, I sort of squeeze this ball." (talking about small black rubber ball in his hand)

KA: "I guess maybe squash players use those sort of things, so you are getting stronger."

CS: "I am getting huge!"

KA: "But you're not smoking?"

CS: "No, not smoking, I smoke a cigar every now and then, but that's pretty much the most of it."

KA: "This is your first hero type role, what about, are you personally a romantic person?"

CS: "I don't know, it would be hard for me to say, you'd have to ask the people I date."

KA: "Have you got the list?"

CS: He rolls his eyes "Well, but at the same time I notice sometimes I notice in certain stories and certain things that I read, things get blown out of proportion, I mean there are times I will be standing next to somebody and somebody will take a picture and then I'll be married to her."

KA: "I mean that is one of the down sides of the business, people who take your life almost out of context and make an issue and make a headline of it."

CS: "No, I mean it's entertainment, I find it to be most of the time fairly humorous, so most of the time I don't take it too seriously, because it's not really serious."

KA: "But I mean it's probably difficult in a situation where you are literally mobbed by women, you have access to what some consider the best lifestyle in the world, how do you keep your feet on the ground?"

CS: "Well, you know I have a great group of friends that I really respect , and a lot of this stuff, I don't take it too seriously, it's all very nice and very complimentary and very very sweet and there are times when I am really touched by it but for the most part when you think about the situation we are involved in right now, I am talking to a camera, I can't see any of you, it's a.."

KA: "And we've seen our crew we know what they look like."

CS: "You know, (laughing) come on, they are a great group of guys. Here we all are."

KA: "Listen we want to thank you very much for spending some time with us, all the very best with Broken Arrow, I loved the movie, I love action movies, a terrific plot as well."

CS: "Good, thanks, thanks."

KA: "Enjoy the rest of your stay in Australia, Ladies and Gentlemen Christian Slater."

Lots of applause from the audience.

The Midday Show appears on the Channel Nine Network.

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