Christian Slater discusses career and his lead role in the new television comedy “Breaking In”

Instead of “bad boy,” Christian Slater says the moniker that fits him more these days is “dad boy.”

The 41-year-old actor, who has been in the news in the past for run-ins with the law, as well as for his starring roles in movies such as “Heathers,” “Pump Up the Volume,” and “True Romance,” is a divorced father of two now, looking forward to a trip with his son to Legoland so they can check out its new “Star Wars” exhibit.

After a couple of recent short-lived dramas, “My Own Worst Enemy” and “The Forgotten,” Slater also is giving television comedy a try now with the show “Breaking In,” which premieres at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Fox.

The character he portrays is Oz, the mysterious leader of Contra Security, who recruits computer hacker Cameron (Bret Harrison) to join his team of eccentric geniuses, which includes Cash (Alphonso McAuley); Melanie (Odette Annable) and Josh (Trevor Moore).

Slater discussed his career and “Breaking In” during a recent phone conference call provided by Fox for the media.

A: Well, I like the consistency of it. I like the pace of it. The first two experiences I had, I really did respond well to the schedule. It's a very, very fast-moving train, and I don't like sitting around. I really like to get in there and do the job and get it done ... and feel good about it at the end of the day, and that pretty much seems to be the vibe on all the sets that I've gotten to be a part of.

A: I do like the fact that he's an eight-moves-ahead kind of guy. He pretty much knows what the outcomes are gonna be right from the get-go, which I really appreciated, and I like. I think it's nice to have characters like that on TV. It makes people feel safe and comfortable. Even though it's a made-up character, it still, I think, makes people feel safe, that there's somebody out there like that, potentially. I like that he's in charge. I like that he likes to have fun, that he doesn't really take things all that seriously and he's just kind of a guy, a very mysterious guy, and there's definitely a lot more going on beneath the surface than he's revealing.

A: A buddy of mine got me that chair for a birthday present about a year ago, so it was really just sittin' in my house, and I really liked it, and I just thought, you know, this chair, I think, would represent in a way who this Oz character is. He is definitely the captain of this particular ship.

It does have a thronelike quality, and it also has a little bit of a throwback-type quality as well. I'm a fairly eccentric character myself, and the fact that these guys were so open to hiring people and including a lot of their own personal eccentricities into the characters was thrilling.

A: I love characters with edge. I love characters that are a little bit more dangerous, a little bit unpredictable ... They're just fun to play. They're definitely more interesting than just your standard run-of-the-mill actiony-type hero. I love just being these guys that are a little offbeat and a little twisted and ... just a little dangerous.

A: I think so. Usually when I'm doing radio interviews it always reminds me of “Pump of the Volume.” I loved that character. I had a great time. It certainly was in the earlier portion of my career, and I loved the director and I loved Samantha Mathis, and I just felt that the story was just very good and very rich and very emotional.

A: I think the opportunities to experience so many different things, to get the opportunity to quite honestly travel, see things. At times I get the opportunities to go on USO tours where if I wasn't in the position that I'm in I wouldn't have those chances to get to go to Bahrain, or Djibouti, or get to visit the Walter Reed Medical Center. So having those kinds of experiences are quite remarkable and certainly perspective changing.