Johnny Hallyday was here to promote a movie called Man On The Train during the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. Pneumonia -- ours, not his -- kept the Sun from talking to the legendary French singer/actor at that time, but with Man On The Train opening Friday in Toronto theatres, we caught up with Hallyday just before he left Los Angeles this week.

Man On The Train is a small, smart, quiet picture with terrific performances from Hallyday and Jean Rochefort. The story concerns a chance meeting between a professional thief and a retired poetry teacher, and how that meeting changes both their lives in unexpected ways.

Over the phone from that left coast, Hallyday gave us an update of his current projects. For a man approaching his 60th birthday, this guy is going like the Energizer Bunny.

He says, "I just spent three months in Toronto making a film with Harvey Keitel and Gerard Depardieu. It's called Crime Spree. It will be released in September."

Along with his American musicians, Hallyday embarks on a big stadium tour in Europe next week. Just prior to that, the singer once called "The French Elvis" has to finish up a few days of filming his part in another new movie -- a dark thriller with Jean Reno. He has been in 35 movies.

Then, his 60th birthday tour beings in June. On the 15th, his actual birthday, Hallyday will play a concert in Paris.

"I'm always afraid no one will come to my birthday," he says, laughing, "so I always do a show." The concert is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of Hallyday fans.

"We've been on the road a long time," he understates. "We're used to it."

After 40 years as a musician, Hallyday's most recent CD is a double release that has already sold two million copies in a couple of months. (He has sold a total of about 100 million albums, with 18 platinum releases.) The hit album before that, Sang Pour Sang, featured songs written by his son David.

Hallyday's daughter, who is 19, is an actress. He says her next film is very sad. "It's about a young girl who gets cancer." How does he feel about both his children being in show business?

"The most important thing is to do what you like to do. If people love their work, that's the best thing."

Now that's he's an icon in the world of music and making a very good name for himself in film, what's next? Painting? Poetry? How about a book of memoirs?

"No memoirs!" he says, laughing. "I don't like to write about my life," says Hallyday. "I'm busy living it."


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