MERCURIO RISING

“For the first time I really felt like an actor when I finished ‘Joseph,’ ” proclaims Paul Mercurio, who plays the famed biblical hero in the TNT drama. “I am happy.”

The 32-year-old Mercurio, one of Australia’s top modern dancers and choreographers, came to the attention of American audiences two years ago in the sleeper hit from Down Under, “Strictly Ballroom.” Last year, he starred with Dana Delany in the ill-fated S&M; romp “Exit to Eden.”

“Joseph” is his most dramatic role to date.

“ ‘Strictly Ballroom’ relied on you being a dancer,” says the ever-earnest Mercurio. “I was very comfortable because I hadn’t done any film acting before. I was eased into films through dance. I played a dancer and I am a dancer. ‘Exit to Eden’ was a different experience. It was my second film and I was doing it in America.”

“Joseph” was a great challenge because “it really required a different kind of character,” Mercurio says, explaining that his “Ballroom” and “Exit to Eden” characters were a lot like him. “Joseph was an individual who was different (than me). When I finished it, I said, ‘I can do (acting). I know that.’ ”

Working on “Joseph” last year was a great experience because he got to appear opposite Oscar winners Ben Kingsley and Martin Landau. “I worked with Martin Landau for one day,” he recalls with a smile. “It was the last day of his shoot and it was my first day. I just got off the plane after 40 hours. I wasn’t supposed to work that day, so mentally I wasn’t fit.”

To top it off, the day’s schedule called for shooting an emotional scene in which Joseph and his father Jacob, played by Landau, are reunited. “When the camera was on Martin, I would step back and watch what he was doing.”

Mercurio did the same with Kingsley. “I loved working with him,” he says. “There was never any time that I was anything other than an actor on an equal footing with him, making a film with him. He was very generous, very friendly. I asked him advice. Ben was more than willing to give advice.”

Though Mercurio read the Old Testament before production began, he based his portrayal “pretty much” on Lionel Chetwynd’s script. “I think I had to make choices about who Joseph was. I was a little bit confused about who he was. The director Roger Young and I had dinner one night and he clearly told me what he wanted, which was great because I could have done a number of things. ... For me, Joseph is just a normal human being. So I approached ‘Joseph’ as a great story about relationships.”

Mercurio, who has been dancing for 22 years, wants to concentrate more on acting. “In the past 20 years, I have struggled and scraped and been an artist. I have done things and made huge commitments. I have succeeded very well. At this stage in my life, I just bought a house, which I couldn’t do as a dancer. My children are secure. As a dancer, I started working from the point of view that I had something to say. On stage, it was fantastic. If I can do it through film and reach vast audiences ... the medium of film to me is very exciting.”