Though clad in a Baltimore City Fire Department baseball cap, the soft-spoken Joaquin Phoenix didn't exude the surety of a man who's fought fires first-hand.

But after six weeks of training for his new film "Ladder 49," the Oscar-nominated actor has an outstanding invitation to work for the Baltimore fire department any time he wants.

Of course, Phoenix said he won't be taking the job offer.

"It's pretty much a thankless job," the 29-year-old said. "When people show up with such consistency, you just expect it and stop appreciating it - and these guys were always there."

Phoenix, along with co-star John Travolta and "Ladder 49's" director Jay Russell, sat down with The State News earlier this month to talk about their experiences making the film, due in theaters on Friday.

Phoenix, whose credits include "Gladiator," "Signs" and this year's "The Village," now takes on the part of Jack Morrison, a rookie firefighter with the Baltimore City Fire Department. The 50-year-old Travolta plays Mike Kennedy, the department's fatherly fire chief and Morrison's mentor.

In order to accurately portray firefighters, the actors and director enlisted with the Baltimore Fire Academy to undergo training and experience real-life fire situations.

"We felt a huge responsibility going into this movie," said Russell, whose films include "Tuck Everlasting" and "My Dog Skip." "The firefighters I've talked to who have seen this film felt like we got it - and that's good enough for me."

Actors were paired with individual firemen to learn mannerisms and protocol.

As part of their training, Phoenix, Travolta, Russell and other crew members took part in a simulated fire situation called "the maze."

"It changed my life," Travolta said. "I have never been so challenged by a fake setup."

The maze is a structure made of boxes connected by holes, Travolta explained, while sketching a diagram of the course. The holes are just big enough to crawl through while wearing full firefighting equipment. The entire maze is pitch black and smoke is pumped in to hinder participants' vision.

Even for a seasoned risk-taker - Travolta is a certified pilot (he flew "Ladder 49's" cast to the interview) - the maze proved frighteningly demanding.

"The word 'mindf---' comes to mind," he said. "You think you're going to die and you have to settle down and collect your thoughts."

Phoenix, who lived in a Baltimore firehouse for a month, said facing day-to-day challenges drove home a firefighter's lifestyle.

Phoenix said he was treated just like a firefighter rookie would be during his first days in the firehouse. His co-workers rigged the kitchen faucet to spray all over Phoenix's clothes when he did the dishes (a rookie duty), they put pool balls under his mattress and coated his gear in talcum powder.

But Phoenix said the behind-the-scenes antics were only part of his training.

"I didn't realize that every day something intense happens that has a profound impact," he said.

Phoenix said he responded to a shooting his first day on the job.

The actor told one story about a call his unit received during a blizzard. On the way to the call, Phoenix and his team were forced to stop and dig a stranded motorist's car out of a snow drift.

"The guy just stood there," Phoenix said. "I can't believe he didn't just pick up a shovel and help out. He literally just sat there, like, watching."

Phoenix said his experiences on call helped him to develop a character that differed from the one originally described in the script.

"When I first got the script, I was the best father, the best husband, the best firefighter," Phoenix said. "I just said, 'That's bull----; That's not accurate.' If anything, it was making the character less perfect."

Phoenix then worked with Russell to develop a character who wasn't always a family man, he said.

In addition to character problems, the actor had to deal with his own issues with heights. A certain scene required Phoenix to reppel six stories from the top of a building.

"I'm still scared of heights," he said. "It's that you learn to trust the equipment and to trust the people we were working with."

For Russell, the biggest challenge came when he first received the script for "Ladder 49," which was written before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I, in no way, shape or form, wanted to ever feel like we were making this film in any way to exploit what happened on 9-11," Russell said. "People have asked me, 'Is this a tribute for the firefighters who died on 9-11?' It absolutely is, but it's also a tribute to firefighters who died on 9-10 and 9-12 and 9-13."

Travolta agreed.

"This movie isn't about us showing off as actors," he said. "It's about us trying to duplicate and represent a group of fabulous people that really deserve recognition. You don't get to do that very often, maybe once or twice in a career."

The film, which Russell describes as "not a John Travolta movie," casts the Oscar-nominated actor in a supporting role. But Travolta said he doesn't feel his familiar personality outshines the character Mike Kennedy.

The reason he doesn't overpower his characters, Travolta said, is because he rarely associates with his roles.

"I don't feel like I'm Tony Manero and I don't feel like I'm Vincent Vega and I don't feel like I'm Stanton in 'Primary Colors,'" he said. "I don't feel like Kennedy."

Of all the characters Travolta has played, he says he relates most to James Ubriacco from the "Look Who's Talking" films.

The actor said audience response to his films proves that his star power isn't a factor in a character's believability.

"I trust that people want to take a ride with you," he said. "I trust the audience's viewpoint that you just do it well and they'll go with you."

Playing "Ladder 49's" fire chief, Travolta said he found it was necessary to distance himself from the rest of the film's cast.

Travolta's training involved learning about all the different divisions in the city's fire-rescue response system. Playing a part that required such role-immersion might have caused some actors to carry undue stress in their everyday lives.

Travolta said that wasn't a problem with "Ladder 49" - or any of his previous films.

"I've never had a real issue with bringing my characters home, thank God," he said. "Imagine bringing Vincent Vega home?

"The only character anyone's ever wanted me to bring home is the 'Urban Cowboy' character. Guys want to hang out with him, girls want to?do other things with him."

Phoenix said his experiences shooting "Ladder 49" did leave him something to take home. The actor said he built stronger friendships with fellow actors shooting this film than on any other project he has worked on.

"Every single person in this film, we've all stayed in touch," he said. "I've never experienced anything like it. It was really one of the best times in my life - that feeling of unity."

Next, Phoenix stars Johnny Cash biopic, "Walk the Line." The movie is set to release in 2005.

Travolta's upcoming films include "A Love Song for Bobby Long," which premiered this month at the Venice Film Festival, and "Be Cool," a sequel to 1995's "Get Shorty."

For a review of "Ladder 49," see Friday's MS&U section.