Trouble-plagued Daniel Baldwin wants the world to know he's not crying wolf this time when he claims he's six months sober -- and means to stay that way. The actor, who plays himself playing Tony Soprano in a fictional movie in "The Sopranos" this Sunday (4/15) and next, has seemingly made more headlines for his legal woes than movies in recent years with three arrests last year alone.

"I've had some well-publicized troubles, and there was a real bad misconception that had gone on about a car," says Baldwin, referring to his arrest last November in Santa Monica, Calif., for grand theft auto and possession of illegal drugs. "A friend had lent it to me, but didn't tell his girlfriend. She calls it in and I go to jail."

Daniel Baldwin as Tony Soprano: Actor Thanks Chase, Insists He's Sober

Baldwin, who has pleaded not guilty to the auto theft charges, is quite candid about his struggles with substance abuse.

He says he's experienced lows before, but what turned him around this time was "my son Atticus. He's 10 and he just didn't understand why Daddy wasn't around. I felt for me, from an emotional standpoint, I'd hit a new bottom. I wasn't even being his dad anymore."

The actor adds that there are two other reasons he believes his drug and alcohol demons are behind him. "First, it was no longer remotely fun. It was becoming a nightmare. I was 46 years old, and I was afraid of who I was when I was under the influence," says Baldwin.

"No. 2, I'm a born-again Christian, and my relationship was so hypocritical, on my knees praying for help from God, then going and doing cocaine the next day. I started feeling bad about the duality of wanting to be one with God, and be a soldier for God, then turning around and absolutely pissing away all the gifts that God has given me. They talk about these moments of clarity and epiphany? I said to myself, 'This isn't living. This is dying,' and I decided to pony up and be a man and a father and I did."

Baldwin says he's just grateful "Sopranos" creator/writer David Chase still took a chance on him despite his reputation. "David's a huge fan of a movie I did that Steve Buscemi wrote and directed and said, 'I always wanted to work with you.'" He quips, "After I got the job on 'The Sopranos,' my brother Alec goes over to the casting office and says, 'What do I gotta do to get on this show, steal a truck?'"

WOMAN AT THE WHEEL: Laura Prepon declares she's determined to become a director -- the old-fashioned way.

"I want to earn it," says the former "That '70s Show" regular, now co-starring in ABC's drama "October Road." "I want to learn everything so I took a film class and worked my booty off. I loved it … I love hard work!" The actress, who just finished post-production on her directorial debut, a short titled "Abide with Me," says her goal is to expand it into her first feature film. She describes it as "a beautiful little period piece set in 1969, about a little boy who stops speaking after witnessing his father's death. His mother is very suppressive, and basically he becomes a recluse until a man moves in next door who befriends him.'" Prepon plays the neighbor's outrageous wife in the short and says she had such fun she may just have to reprise the role in the feature. "She's like this sassy, sewer-mouthed woman who wears low-cut dresses and looks like Brigitte Bardot."

SOMETHING BIGGER: "It has taken up a lot more of my time than I thought it was going to, but I don't mind," says Patrick Wayne, speaking of his duties as chairman of the board of the John Wayne Cancer Institute. "It's a great cause and a great group of people we're working with. I'm not really directing any effort toward acting these days." Much of last year, he says, was taken up with negotiating the JWCI's affiliation with St. John's Heath Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Theirs has become ranked as one of the top four breast cancer research and treatment centers in the country, Wayne proudly notes, in addition to its work in other types of cancer. Right now, Wayne's looking forward to Saturday night's (4/14) 22nd Annual Odyssey Ball for the John Wayne Cancer Institute, which takes place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and where Larry King will be among the honorees and Jamie Lee Curtis will emcee.

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: MTV has put out the word that they're looking for male virgins, 18 years old and up, for a reality show that will begin shooting in May, about guys on a quest to have sex. "Isn't that what all TV is about already?" asks one industry wag. We'll leave it to you to come up with your own tagline.

(With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster)