Andre Braugher left his Emmy-winning role as Det. Frank Pembleton on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street" last season, but he's hardly gone jobless since. In the TNT movie "Passing Glory" (premiering Feb. 21), he stars as a Jesuit priest who organizes an interracial basketball game in segregated 1965 New Orleans. "Priests and cops are totally different," says Braugher, who admits that switching on-screen professions came easier thanks to his Chicago boyhood. "I know what priests look like because I spent quite a lot of time in Catholic schools growing up. In essence, I get to play all those people who taught me."

And "Glory" isn't Braugher's only post-"Homicide" project. He's also wrapped roles in the indie flicks "Thick as Thieves" with Alec Baldwin (currently screening at Sundance) and "All The Rage" with Gary Sinise. And he's just started working with a pair of Paltrows -- Golden Globe winner Gwyneth and her director dad, Bruce -- on "Duets," a comedy about karoake contestants. "I'm doing my own singing," Braugher tells EW Online. "But I'm sure the high notes will be supplied by someone with a finer voice than mine."

In the midst of all this activity, the 37-year-old actor somehow found the time to make his directorial debut with the Showtime film "Love Songs" (airing this spring) in which he also costars. "I love directing," he says. "It sprang me out of bed every day at 4:30 a.m. with a smile on my face." Alas, thanks to Braugher's busy schedule, "Homicide" fans should give up any hopes for a certain detective's guest visit. Says Braugher, "I don't think we'll ever see Frank Pembleton in the flesh again."

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