Would you believe Kevin Costner as serial killer?

LOS ANGELES, May 31 (Reuters) Are the movies running out of heroes and is this why lovable Kevin Costner, the perfect guy to play a washed-up baseball player, is now playing a sympathetic serial killer? Costner in an interview emphatically denies that is the reason he took the role of businessman Earl Brooks, the hero or villain depending on your point of view of ''Mr Brooks,'' a reworking of both the Hannibal Lecter and Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde sagas which opens on Friday.

Prissy Mr Brooks is such a nice guy in his day job that he is named Portland, Oregon's ''Man of the Year.'' And he is so personally embarrassed by his penchant for killing others that he goes to 12-step meetings and keeps imploring the higher power to make him a good person.

''Hi,'' he says, ''I am an addict.'' But he doesn't say what he is addicted to.

The executive producer Sam Nazarian of the film released by MGM film is so impressed with Costner's performance that he asked recently, ''How many actors can give you a serial killer you can root for?'' And for some people that is the trouble with the film -- should you root for a serial killer or not? There are also some critics who say Costner grabbed the role of ''Mr Brooks'' as a change of pace, that he was tired of playing ''Mr. Nice Guys,'' a notion he dismisses after a long and distinguished career that includes the controversial film ''JFK.'' He also played a washed-up baseball player in 1998's ''Bull Durham.'' ''I've played killers before,'' he told Reuters in an interview in which he stressed that as nice as Mr Brooks might seem to be on the surface, he really isn't nice at all. ''He is evil. There is no doubt about that,'' said Costner, who won Oscars for producing and directing 1990's ''Dancing with Wolves.'' But he added, ''I think the film breaks new ground. This is a genre that is not comfortable with a lot of humanity or a real sense of humor. I think the film has a chance to become a classic.'' MIXED REVIEWS He also expects the modestly budgeted film to build an audience by word of mouth rather than hit instant success.

The film has a first-class cast with William Hurt as the demon egging Mr Brooks to keep on killing and Demi Moore as the police woman who is in pursuit of him.

Bruce A Evans, who directed and co-wrote the film, said he sees it as almost a Shakespearean tragedy. ''This is about a very good man who has a disease .... The audience is asked to understand him.'' ''We wanted to do the total opposite of Hannibal Lecter. We wanted the neighbors to say Mr Brooks was a wonderful man.'' The studios told Evans he got the idea of serial killers wrong, that they are loners and sociopaths and don't fit into society. ''We took the opposite point of view .... If we make money on this film, we will do a sequel,'' Evans said.

The reviews have been mixed with New York Magazine calling it a ''holy mess'' and Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com saying it was ''Costner's best performance ever! An intelligent, terrific thriller with twists and kinky characters.'' REUTERS AKJ PM0911