Corbett Gives Two Films' Notice

Cynthia Nixon isn't the only former Sex and the City star with a big announcement to make.

John Corbett, appearing at a junket last week to promote his upcoming film with Hilary Duff, Raise Your Voice, dropped a bombshell of his own.

"I can't do this anymore. I'm getting out of acting," he said. "I'm bored. I've been doing this for so long--I'm serious--and I can't do this any more."

Corbett, who first garnered attention as an eccentric deejay on the early-'90s CBS hit Northern Exposure, has made a solid career for himself playing tall, easy-going romantics in films like Raising Helen, Serendipity and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Most famously, he made Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw nearly pop a gasket as she had to decide whether his Aidan Shaw or Chris Noth's Mr. Big was her soul mate on Sex and the City. More recently, he starred in the short-lived FX gambling dramedy Lucky.

Now, decked out in a leather vest and black cowboy hat, he insists his love for music has forced him to make a big decision of his own. "I'm making an album right now in Nashville," he said, tilting back the brim of his hat. "Country music. Guitar. I'm singing and playing guitar. I'm definitely branching into music. I've got one more movie to promote after this one and then it's, 'Thank you, Jesus, I don't have to do this anymore.' "

Corbett has signed a deal with the indie country label Broken Bow Records. He hopes to wrap recording next month and release his debut album in the spring.

"There's nothing like playing music, man. Acting--I'll tell you this--here's how boring acting is: The longest that you get to do it, the longest, is about 90 seconds between 'action' and 'cut.' I mean, for them to roll tape for 90 seconds, that's a long take, and that's about the max that you get to get your jollies off and do a scene," he explained.

"And then, just as you're getting warmed up, it's, 'Cut, huh, we'll see you in about a half hour. We've got to move the camera around, okay, great. We'll see you in two hours.' And I can't do that any more."

Corbett, 43, says he has made enough--mostly from supporting roles on television and in headlining straight-to-video clunkers like The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy--to be financially secure in his new endeavor.

"It's as much money--at a regular job I would have to work nine or 10 years to make what I can in seven weeks at [acting]," Corbett said. "You're asked to come in for five or six weeks, and [they] will literally give you wheelbarrows full of money...Now I've saved up enough of that cash, not to brag, but I've saved up enough that I don't have to do this anymore. So, I'm going to do something I really enjoy now."

Corbett, who presented at this year's the CMT Flame Worthy Video Music Awards, Nashville's equivalent of the MTV VMAs, says his band doesn't have a name yet, but the sound is starting to come together. "I'm just going to probably call it Corbett. I have one guy, and I'm going to hire studio session musicians to come out on the road with me. We'll just hire $200-a-night guys to play. I don't want to compare myself to him, because he's great, and I'm just getting started, but I like Travis Tritt. I like playing that kind of music. It's all originals, but they're not my originals, though," he admitted, revealing where some of his hard-earned money will be going: "Nashville songwriters."

While his publicist said Tuesday that Corbett is not technically retiring from acting, the six-foot-five star sounded resolute. When asked by reporters if he were offered a role in action film, or a movie that would allow him to his music, Corbett just grinned and shook his head no.

He does say that Sex and the City was his favorite acting gig, and Parker was his greatest acting partner. "Sarah Jessica. She's just one of the best actresses around, and all of my scenes for two years were with one of the best actresses around. It was just really fun, and that was something I really enjoyed." Laughing, he added: "I didn't mind those 90-second takes."

Getting back on track, Corbett reminded everyone of how proud he is of Raise Your Voice, opening Oct. 8, and says his final appearance, in the romantic comedy Caught in the Act with Amy Smart and Sean Astin, will be on the big screen in the coming months. After that, you can catch him on the road, twanging away at a guitar--just a cowboy determined to ride off into the sunset.