Trace Adkins Wants to Get Uncomfortable

Most people with nine Top 10 albums, 12 Top 10 hits and four Grammy nominations would be perfectly content to sit back and enjoy the ride, but most people aren't Trace Adkins. The 48-year-old country superstar says there's a lot more he wants to add to his resume.

"I want to do voice-over [work]," he tells Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. "I want to act. I want to comment on political events. Living is about getting outside your comfort zone, sometimes even dangerous situations."

The married father (and grandfather) has already begun branching out into other forms of entertainment, including acting. He first hit the big screen as a ghost in 'An American Carol' opposite Jon Voight and Dennis Hopper, and will also star with Matthew McConaughey in 'The Lincoln Lawyer,' expected in theaters early next year. But while he is eager to explore new opportunities, Trace admits they don't come without a bit of trepidation, especially when it comes to action-packed roles.

"There are a couple of scenes where we come up beside [McConaughey's] car, 10 or 25 bikes around his car, and force him to pull over. That was interesting to shoot," Trace reveals. "I had two stunt men flanking me, but the rest of the guys were real biker guys. They asked me, 'Are you comfortable doing this?' I said, 'Yeah, sure.' I wasn't. I didn't want to let them know that."

Now that 'Lawyer' filming has wrapped up, Trace could be spending a lot more time writing, as another item on his career to-do list is a follow-up to his 2007 book, 'A Personal Stand: Observations and Opinions From a Freethinking Roughneck.'

"I've really thought about the book thing," he told The Boot. "I don't know when I'll do it, but I will eventually. It will be political in nature, my observations and opinions again, but probably instead of trying to cover the entire gamut, I'll pick one issue and go as deep as I can go into it."

But in all of Trace's job juggling, his music career still comes first. The platinum-selling singer just released his ninth studio album, and his first on Toby Keith's Show Dog-Universal label, 'Cowboy's Back in Town.'

He recently sang at Nashville's famous Opryland Hotel for its grand opening celebration, after spending the past six months closed owing to extensive damage from Music City's devastating flood. Next, he'll spend time behind the microphone December 6 -- speaking, not singing -- when he hosts the first-ever American Country Awards, where he is nominated in three categories.

Trace's current single, 'This Ain't No Love Song,' is currently in the top 20 and climbing.