He's still a Boston fan

Dorchester native Kevin Chapman is enjoying a great run. The actor, whose credits include Clint Eastwood's adaptation of Dennis Lehane's ``Mystic River" and ``Ladder 49" with John Travolta, has finished filming the thriller ``Unknown" and Eastwood's ``Flags of Our Fathers." Chapman, who once ran Boston's film bureau, is also part of the new Showtime series ``Brotherhood," a Providence-filmed drama about two brothers -- one a politician, the other a mobster. The show, which premieres July 9, has its regional premiere Monday at Providence's Avon Cinema. Although Chapman is based in Los Angeles now, we caught up with him last weekend at the Nantucket Film Festival, where he handed out a couple of screenwriting awards for his new network Showtime.

Q. The story of ``Brotherhood" -- two brothers, one a power politician, the other a wanted mobster. To people from Boston, that sounds a bit familiar. It's a lot like the story of the Bulgers, isn't it?

A. It could be ``The Godfather." Michael Corleone is the good son. And Sonny Cor leone is the bad son. It could be so many films. People draw a correlation between an existing situation in Boston, of course. But I think [writer-executive producer] Blake Masters has done such a great job of creating this world. It stands on its own.

Q. So your character, Freddi Cork -- good guy or bad guy?

A. He's the kind of guy who has a dual life. He makes his life stealing, but he feels like he's a good family man. He takes his kids out for pizza; he goes to Little League games. In his mind he's on the same level with Tommy Caffee, an elected official [played by Jason Clarke], because he's helping out the public, looking out for the citizens.

Q. You were once the guy who worked to bring movies to Boston, but you had to go to Los Angeles to make it as an actor. Does that bother you?

A. Where I grew up, it wasn't a socially accepted down on the corner to be the guy who wanted to be an actor. It's socially accepted to hit a ball, but go down on the corner and recite Shakespeare? People will be like ``what's going on?" Maybe as a kid growing up in the city, that was something that was suppressed in me.

Q. So you're an overnight sensation 20 years in the making?

A. I left the city six, going on seven, years. I was a 35-year-old doorman at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip . . . you want to talk about humility.

Q. What's your ideal work situation?

A. I'd like to get to a point in my career where maybe I could live anywhere. I'd love to raise my kids down in Marshfield. . . . Yes, the Irish Riviera. I miss Boston, and I try to get back as much as possible. I'm a Dorchester kid. I grew up right behind the Globe. I'm still on the board of the Marr Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester.

Q. Are you still rooting for the Red Sox?

A. Oh, yeah. On the Sox, I'm a big Coco Crisp fan. I was a little concerned coming out of the box, but I like his style. Johnny Damon, of course, let me down. He could have done what he had to do, but maybe he couldn't have done that someplace else.

Q. And the Patriots?

A. I'm a huge Pats fan. I met Tom Brady once when I did a skit for Jay Mohr's "Mohr Sports" show on ESPN. . . . I'm a huge Brady fan. And I just did a movie with [Brady's girlfriend] Bridget Moynahan called ``Unknown." You know, she's a dynamite person and a good actor.

Q. So what's next?

A. Getting through this awards presentation. I'm really nervous.

CAROL BEGGY