Timothy Adams (Casey Mitchum, Sunset Beach) is a man of many talents and straightforward admissions. An hour-long chat in his dressing room runs a gamut of topics. Everything from taking off his shirt --and then some - to the monetary allure of show business to his heartfelt thankfulness at being involved in an interracial romance in the open-minded '90s. And, oh yes, his predilection for walking on his hands.

"I taught myself," Adams announces proudly. "It started by standing on my head in front of the TV as a kid. My mom would say, 'Get down, you're going to break something.' Then - wham! - I'd break something. Two weeks would go by and I'd be back to standing on my head again and walking. After so many years, I can do it anywhere. I could walk on this table," he smiles, immediately flipping upside down and giving it a go. "It's like breathing for me."

Adams insists the unusual habit keeps his buff body in shape - along with "playing basketball for fun. Other than that, I don't even work out anymore, and my body is pretty much the way it was three years ago," he says. "I've been fortunate that I set my body up for life at an early age."

An underdeveloped adolescent - "When I graduated from the eight grade I was, like, 4 feet, 11 inches" - Adams didn't develop until a good four years later. But he was never teased or picked on. "I had a wise-guy attitude. I'd razz people," he grins. "And to compensate for my size, I worked out with weights."

Adams' strategy obviously paid off, because today his muscular, 6-foot-1-inch physique is a perfect specimen of the California man, right down to the blond hair, blue eyes and perennial tan he sports courtesy of living near the beaches of Malibu.

"People always assume that I'm a native Californian right off the bat. I've gotten it my whole life," he relates. The irony, of course, is that Adams hails from Harrison, N.J. "It seems such a contradiction to the West Coast, because it's so far east," Adams points out, insisting that he wouldn't change a thing about his roots. "I love the idea that I was born and raised there. The stock of people who come from back East are different. They have different attitudes. They seem to be more grounded and real, if I can generalize."

For Adams, Jersey life was as good as it gets. One of five siblings - "Susan, Bobby, Tim, Patty and Debbie; we were like the Brady Bunch, very all-American" - Adams is a middle child who loved the experience. "I had a brother and sister before me to make mistakes, so I could watch their mistakes and not make the same ones," he says.

Adams' earliest dream was to become a professional athlete. "That was my ultimate passion in life. To this day, I wish I could play professional football," he asserts emphatically. By the time he came to the realization that that was an unlikely proposition, Adams hadn't a clue about that career to pursue. His bachelor of science degree in computer science from Jersey City State College didn't help any.

"I knew it wasn't my calling," Adams says. "But I'm happy I went to college. Whether I learned a trade is not the point. I learned how to delegate my communication skills, get the things I want to be [heard] listened to, and not be a jock who's a dope. That was my incentive. I wanted to be physically enhanced and mentally sound."

Adams credits being around ex-wife Daisy Fuentes, then an up-and-coming celebrity, with drawing him into show business. "I was educated about the business through her," he says. "A week before we got married, she was offered a contract as a VJ on MTV. Then came endorsements for Revlon and Pantene. I was watching all these people pursue her, and how they had to be dealt with."

Intrigued, Adams realized he wanted to get into the act. "To make a living doing something as fun as performing in front of people and get paid - how can you beat that?" he smiles. Adams sold the trucking company he had with a friend - "It was boring, mentally unfulfilling" - and liquidated everything "to pursue 'the arts.'"

By this point Adams and Fuentes had split. "We'd met as teen-agers, I grew up in the marriage away from her," he admits, noting that they are still in touch occasionally "to say hello. It's a friendly relationship, if there is a relationship. My concern for her is that she's happy."

As Adams came to terms with the breakup - "It crippled me for, like, two years" - he moved to New York and began modeling. "Then, little by little I started going out on commercial auditions. I worked free-lance through all these agencies," he notes. "I even booked a small part in Die Hard with a Vengeance through a modeling agency. I worked on that film for nine weeks, made a considerable amount of money, and the agents who got me the audition never called me back."

It was Adams' work in the movie that convinced him acting "was what I needed to do for a living. Because I liked it so much and I liked the pay," he says, grinning from ear to ear. He also liked the financial rewards of modeling, which he continued to pursue while waiting for his next acting break. "I could make up to $150 an hour, $350 for certain things. I worked a 15-hour day once for $250 an hour. How could you not like that?"

That particular gig - a press conference/fashion show for Guess? housewares and linens - was, however, a tad unusual. "I had to hang out in a towel and slippers with no shirt on," Adams reveals, confessing that he was naked as a jay-bird beneath his terry wrap. "I never wear underwear. I don't believe in it."

Is it any wonder that this uninhibited hunk nailed his Sunset audition as resident lifeguard dreamboat Casey? Adams professes to have had an instant connection to the part. "As soon as I read the character description, I thought, 'Well, I don't have to change a thing. It described me on paper. A lifeguard? I'd be a lifeguard. The whole stereotype physique of what I represent was right on the paper," he says with unbridled self-confidence, adding that he knew he "ripped" the audition the second it was over.

Indeed, he did, landing the job and promptly relocating to California. "I had to get a whole new life out here," Adams recounts. "Find a neighborhood, find an apartment, find a car, find some friends .." Of course, he ended up finding his best friend, girlfriend Sherri Saum (Vanessa), behind the scenes at Sunset. The couple met the day executive producer Aaron Spelling brought the show's cast together for their initial meeting. Adams remembers the moment vividly. "It was love at first sight. As soon as I looked across the table at Sherri, I gasped. I still do. I'm in love," he gushes.

He's quite thankful for the fact that their different races - Saum is half African-American and half Caucasian - hasn't been met with an ounce of opposition. "Isn't that incredible?" Adams marvels. "I used to say to Sherri, 'Can you imagine if 40 years ago you and I had met and fell in love? They would have hanged us. They'd have hanged you for being black and white together.' That's just 40 years ago in American history. We are so lucky to be in this time. I've never gotten any racial bias ? not even from my family. There's been no negativity."

Instead, the pair seem fated to be together. Adams admits he's always been intrigued by any woman "that doesn't look like me. Any feature that is not mine - eyes, hair ... The physical opposite of me I find very attractive, the more the better. And I find Sherri extremely exotic," he says, noting that conversely Saum has always gone for the blue-eyed blond type. "She tells me her ideal man growing up was Bo Duke of The Dukes of Hazzard."

Adams' and Saum's physical attraction to one another is only enhanced by their cognitive connection. "We're passionate about the same things, like traveling. She loves it as much as I do." Then there are the simple pleasures in life that they always agree on: "Pizza. We could both eat it every day."

Not that they do, mind you. And that's largely because Adams loves to slave over a hot stove for his special lady. "I hardly cooked at all until we started dating. Then I figured out it was a logical way to keep Sherri around more," he says. "It's more time I get to spend with her. So I'm pretty much making myself happy if I cook for her." Plus, it means getting her all to himself. "I'm very private when it comes to Sherri and me. I like to steal her away from the world. Isolate her."

Although Adams and Saum are obviously blissfully enamored with one another, they have yet to discuss marriage. "I don't like the word marriage. It's institutional," he points out. "I think marriage is an individual thing. As our culture evolves, people are realizing conventional methods are passe. I'd like to do it my own way; make my vows to God before I would to a guy who's representing God."

Adams insists he and Saum are totally secure in their status quo commitment to one another. "Why waste time talking about marriage?" he says. "I'm really good at making myself happy, living my life a certain way. Whatever it is that makes me happy, I'll do."

And being with Saum is just about all Adams needs. Heck, the guy isn't even frazzled by the constant talk of Sunset's possible cancellation. "I remember when there were talks about whether we were going to get picked up for the second year," Adams says. "People were sweating, worried. But I didn't care. Things could change tomorrow, and it would be OK."

"The thing is, I have a woman in my life now. That makes things so much easier," Adams smiles. "She is my priority, and I've told her that. With Sherri by my side I can survive anything."