Title: His bite's supposedly as bad as his bark, but Jack sees it differently.

LOS ANGELES _ Jack Nicholson says the secret to his acting is that he keeps his characters fresh by resisting the obvious temptation to ``Jack'' up his roles.

You know what he means ... arch the eyebrows, give the folks that killer grin and talk in the same slow, distinctive drawl that has become a staple of countless impressionists and stand-up comics.

But in person, Nicholson has no need or desire to resist anything. This is, after all, Jack, and if he wants to ``Jack'' up an interview, who's going to stop him?

On this day, he is wearing tortoise-shell glasses, a checked jacket, pale blue shirt, a tan suit, arched eyebrows and a killer smile. He's all Jack.

The surprising thing is that he is here, in the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles, at all. Nicholson, 57, does not usually publicize his films. But his latest _ ``Wolf,'' which opens today _ is a special case.

Nicholson's old friend Jim Harrison wrote it and old friend Mike Nichols directed it. But the actor said he also thought that the movie might be a tough sell, although audiences for months have been applauding trailers that merely mention the words ``Wolf'' and ``Nicholson'' in the same breath.

``I specifically negotiate into my contract that I don't have to do these interviews, but sometimes I want to do it,'' Nicholson said. ``I felt this movie might need a couple of things so that it is looked at in the best light.

``And I only do these interviews when I think it might make me some extra money,'' he added with that trademark smile.

In the film, Nicholson plays a quiet, somewhat depressed Manhattan book editor whose life changes dramatically after he is bitten by a wolf. For a while, he actually enjoys the rebirth of energy and enthusiasm in his life, and therein lies the difference between ``Wolf'' and the typical Hollywood werewolf movie. It is as much a story about a man's midlife crisis as it is a horror movie.

Michele Pfeiffer plays the new love in his life, and James Spader is his backstabbing colleague. Although some might disagree, Nicholson said he has never seen himself as a wolf, whether it was in business dealings or in his very public sex life.

The women in Nicholson's life come in two varieties _ those he works with and those he loves. The former are no problem. In fact, at a recent American Film Institute benefit in his honor, the dais was packed with some of the most important actresses in the business.

But the dais was suspiciously devoid of former lovers. Nicholson acknowledges that he has been unlucky in love but says the same behavior that serves him so well in professional relationships tends to destroy his personal relationships.

``I grew up among working women and therefore always had great respect for them,'' he explained. ``I develop a laissez-faire attitude when I work with women, and they appreciate that.

``But that doesn't seem to work in a personal relationship. A laissez-faire attitude is the last thing a woman wants in a relationship. She wants to know what you're thinking and what you want from the relationship. I guess I can't give that to them.''

Nicholson, born in Neptune, N.J., left home at 17 to pursue a career in show business. It was a good move. He has won two Oscars, for ``One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' and ``Terms of Endearment,'' and has been nominated 10 times.

He got married at 25 to actress Sandra Knight. They divorced but have a daughter, Jennifer, 30. He had a long relationship with Michelle Phillips, and his breakup with longtime lover Anjelica Huston made headlines around the globe.

At the time of their breakup, the world also learned that Nicholson and his younger lover, Rebecca Broussard, were about to have a child. Their daughter, Lorraine, is 4, and they also have a son, Ray, 2.

As if his love woes weren't enough, he ran afoul of the law recently when he used a golf club _ a 2-iron _ to bash in the car of a man who had cut him off in traffic. The dispute was settled out of court.

He refers to the matter as ``that shameful incident on the freeway.''

``People find it amusing in a way that I really don't want to encourage,'' he said. ``I happen to agree with the court in that I don't think people should go around bopping people on the head.

``I'm not allowed to tell what actually happened because of legal reasons. But right or wrong, it was an unfortunate thing.''

Such behavior might go unnoticed for most people, but Nicholson has been living in the proverbial fishbowl since his career _ then devoted to mostly B-movie roles _ exploded with his scene-stealing role in ``Easy Rider.''

Now, he can't do anything without making headlines, and he said he regrets that at times.

``Anonymity is a tremendous asset to living a life,'' he said. ``But if you've made yourself a public figure, people will recognize you wherever you go. My life is truncated in that I can't do everything exactly the way I want to do it, and that's not fun. I'm the kind of guy who likes to do something exactly the way I want.''

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Cue the killer smile and arched eyebrow.