An Intoxicating Mix of Celebrity : Rob Fitzgerald is the lying loser who can’t beg a brew in beer commercials but those spots have made him a winner with television viewers.

He’s a pitiful, unshaven Everyshlub who uses the same shameless con on anyone he can, just to get a beer.

And he’s the hottest thing in commercials.

He’s Johnny, better known as the guy in the current crop of Bud Light spots who pathetically sobs “I love you, man” to various people--his father, a girlfriend--trying to make them give up their beer.

So far the wailing hasn’t worked. After three separate scenarios, Johnny has yet to get his brewski.

But the commercial that began airing less than a year ago is an advertising phenom; the line is the new mantra of the TV-watching crowd, like “Where’s the beef?” before it. Signs proclaiming “I love you, man” are all over the stands at sporting events.

No one’s been more surprised at the reaction to Johnny than Rob Fitzgerald, the 40-year-old actor who portrays him. “People are really cool, they’re so sweet,” he says, still amazed at fans’ reactions. “Everybody’s taken the character and me into their hearts. . . . I made an appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game and I was on the field, and it was like I was Mick Jagger. I’ve got the head coach and Marcus Allen shaking my hand, and people coming down from the stands just to touch me.”

Why so much identification with a guy who’s basically a loser? “I don’t think I’m threatening, and I think people identify with my weakness, my vulnerability, even though it’s a mask. [Johnny’s] going to do whatever he’s going to do and they laugh at him because of it.”

Fitzgerald theorizes that a little politically correct backlash may also explain Johnny’s popularity.

“You’ve got a guy who’s unshaven and he comes across as some kind of alcoholic, pulling on the emotional strings of other people to get what he wants. I think that’s one of the reasons why this guy is funny, because in this day and age everybody’s tired of being told how they should be and how they should react.”

Jim Schumacker, Bud Light’s St. Louis-based director of marketing, says the company wanted a “sincere look” as well as vulnerability from the character, and they found both in Fitzgerald.

“I know when people talk to Rob,” he adds, “he seems like a pretty vulnerable guy in person, but he knows where he wants to head in life. And he’s really down to earth--you can sit down and talk to him about any subject in the world.”

It’s the lovable liar that attracts people, says Ira Teinowitz, senior editor at Advertising Age. Remember David Leisure as the fibbing Isuzu pitchman?

“People can see through Johnny very easily and it makes it funny because you know what he’s going to do, you just wait to see how it’s going to happen.”

About all that Fitzgerald and Johnny truly have in common is facial stubble. On a recent morning he talks over a cup of decaf at Swingers restaurant on Beverly Boulevard near his home, which he shares with his wife, Annie, also an actress.

Fitzgerald has chalked up a dozen years in the biz, with TV and movie credits that include “Thelma & Louise,” “Matlock” and “Thunder Alley.” He’s also a veteran of about 100 commercials, everything from McDonald’s to AT&T;, Jeep and Corn Pops.

But when Johnny hit the airwaves, Fitzgerald hit the jackpot. It took a few months for the commercial’s popularity to zoom; the actor’s appearance during the fall on the “Late Show With David Letterman” helped, as did the spot’s heavy rotation during the World Series and other big sports events.

Results from a USA Today/Louis Harris Poll this month seem to bear out the campaign’s popularity, with 34% of 587 adults saying they liked the “I love you, man” ads a lot. The average for other commercials rated was only 23%.

His ante has definitely been upped. Calls are coming in for bigger roles on bigger projects, both feature films and TV, and no, he’s not being pigeonholed into “Johnny” roles.

None of this might have happened if Fitzgerald’s football career had enjoyed the same success.

He played cornerback for the University of Missouri, where he majored in radio, TV and film. After signing with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was sidelined with a hamstring injury for two weeks during training camp. When he returned, he was cut from the team.

Don’t look for massive regrets.

“At one time it was my dream to play [pro football],” he says, “but it’s a total commitment. And when I got to the pros I wasn’t sure I was ready to make that commitment. It’s just a tough-ass violent game. I had three or four concussions in college, I had cracked ribs, a torn knee, and my body was starting to tear down.”

With a career in show business in mind, Fitzgerald came to L.A. (he was born here), worked as a bartender and “eased into” acting.

An appearance on “The Dating Game” in the late ‘70s resulted in a meeting with Steven Spielberg, though nothing came of it. (“Hey, Steve!” Fitzgerald jokes. “I’m still waiting for the call!”)

Acting classes and local plays segued into commercials and small TV and film roles, enough work that he hasn’t had to tend bar for a decade.

But Fitzgerald doesn’t find it at all bizarre that after working diligently for years, a beer commercial has catapulted him into big-time fame.

“I always thought in the back of my mind that there was a possibility of getting some recognition from a good spot. I’m very proud of the work and the commercial and glad that it’s being received this way. Right now it’s taken me to where some doors are opening, and maybe all this work I’ve done will pay off.”

The fourth “I love you, man” commercial will air Sunday, during Super Bowl XXX, this one featuring Charlton Heston. Schumacker says two more ads are storyboarded, but he’s not sure if they’ll be produced. Ads like these usually have a short shelf life--over and out before the concept becomes dated.

Says Fitzgerald: “As long as it’s fun to do and I think they’re doing a good job, I’ll do it. I want to move on to other things, and I am. I’m not worried about it. It’s fun.”