Bruce Willis plays with fire in "Perfect Stranger"

Bruce Willis has demonstrated remarkable versatility in a career that has included such diverse roles as the prizefighter in "Pulp Fiction," the heroic time traveler in "Twelve Monkeys," the compassionate child psychologist in "The Sixth Sense," and what could be considered his signature role: detective John McClane in the blockbuster "Die Hard" films. Now, Willis stars as a married man who gets his kicks in internet chatrooms, in Columbia Pictures'' psycho-sexual thriller, "Perfect Stranger."

In the film, Halle Berry plays Rowena, an investigative reporter who has perfected the art of exposing other people''s secrets. So when childhood friend Grace, who was having an affair with married advertising executive Harrison (Willis), turns up murdered, Rowena is determined to find the truth. Thanks to her associate, tech-savvy Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), Rowena gains access to Grace''s e-mail and learns that Grace was threatening to go to Hill''s wife. Armed with that knowledge, Rowena goes undercover and becomes the perfect stranger - first as a temp, Katherine, in Hill''s advertising agency, and then as Rocketgirl aka Veronica, another one of his online paramours.

Although Willis is probably best-known as an action star, director James Foley says he has always had an affinity for the actor''s work in thrillers. "When Bruce is doing straight dramatic acting, he''s very effective," says Foley. "He came in, put on the right clothes, and became this character - the powerful, arrogant, lustful head of an ad agency."

"I don''t think any guy ever thinks of himself as a womanizer," says Willis. "I think Harrison loves women, he''s at the height of his career as a captain of the advertising industry, and he doesn''t judge himself. I''m in my own middle age now, and I still get a big kick out of life; I think Harrison also gets a big kick out of his life."

Part of that kick was the chance to work alongside Halle Berry. "I seldom get parts where I get to flirt so unabashedly," laughs Willis. "Not a hard day at the office - go to work and flirt with Halle Berry."

For her part, Berry says that working with Willis was an inspiring experience. "Bruce likes to improvise a lot - flying by the seat of his pants," she says. "That was a new element for me, but really great. He had a real handle on who this guy is and what motivates him."

"I think it''s easy to come into this movie and say, ''This character''s a womanizer, this character''s a sycophant, this character''s an upwardly mobile young woman.'' But everybody has something to hide," concludes Willis.

Opening across the Philippines on April 18, "Perfect Stranger" is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.