John Woo Introduces the Next Action Hero

When John Woo gets his casting right, he gets it so right. Sure, the Face/Off director couldn't possibly have known during tryouts just how perfect leading man Shawn Christian was to trade blows with Vivian Wu (The Last Emperor) in his rock 'em, sock 'em USA Network movie Red Skies (premiering Wednesday at 8 pm/ET). But the Tremors 3 star is, in fact, the ideal actor to play a wisecracking FBI agent who never lets the bad guys see him sweat — because he's so cool that he simply doesn't sweat. Here's why:

1. Christian is as brave as they come. In fact, he didn't even run for cover when baby boy Kameron decided that the mall was the perfect place to raise a... uh, stink. "I changed his diaper under the bras and panties at Victoria's Secret, which is quite interesting," says the Michigan native, married since 1996 to fellow former model Deborah Quinn. "People were like, 'Uh, okay... what is this?'"

2. Christian is as funny as heck. Even under fire. The day Kameron tagged along to the martial-arts studio where Dad was practicing for his Red Skies fight scenes, Christian recalls, "I sat him on this huge bouncing ball — you know, to have him bounce. And when I took him off, he was like, 'Ball! Ball! Sit! Sit!' I just looked at everybody and went, 'I'm just a parent in progress — bear with me.'"

3. Christian is as Zen as can be. Although making a name for oneself in Hollywood can be more painful than going nine rounds with a black belt in karate, the former soap heartthrob relies on his family to keep him real. "Kameron doesn't care whether I screwed up an audition," notes the up-and-comer, a semiregular on the WB's fall series Birds of Prey. "So why would I ever bring [that baggage] home to him? I just go to work and do the thing I love, then I come home and play."