Sean Patrick's Boogie Nights

The District's Sean Patrick Thomas had tough dancing shoes to fill portraying the "crown prince" of the hip-hop scene in his latest flick, Save the Last Dance (opening Friday). But now, the actor admits he's the king of the clubs.

"Before we started this movie... I could count on two fingers the number of times that I actually went out dancing," Thomas tells TV Guide Online. "So, I was very intimidated by the whole process of having to dance and have people watch me dance and the pressure of being the 'crown prince' of the hip-hop club.

"Since then, I've been going out to clubs every week," continues Thomas. "It changed my life. I'm a lot more confident with my body. It's been a great experience." He also has nothing but praise for his leading lady, Julia Stiles. "Dancing with Julia is like breathing — it's a pure delight."

When he's not on the dance floor, Thomas says he's happy to be fighting crime every week as Detective Temple Page on CBS's freshman hit The District. "I started off as Craig T. Nelson's driver, but I got a promotion," he explains. "I've kind of evolved into the conscience of the show. [Now I get to] run and jump fences and [pull] out the gun and shoot. And you say 'Freeze' and you punch people. It's cool."

But much to his dismay, Thomas admits he's better off chasing bad guys than being one. "I'm kind of squeaky clean, but I don't really want to be," he says. "I just kind of ended up being that way because I'm just not good at being bad."