After playing a regular Joe in "The King of Queens" during its nine-year run on prime-time television, actor Kevin James has landed his first lead role on the silver screen ... as another regular Joe.

James co-wrote, co-produced and stars in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," a film about a police academy reject who, despite being lonely, overweight and socially awkward, takes pride in protecting a suburban shopping mall. When the mall falls under siege by a team of organized crooks, Blart has the opportunity to make a hero of himself and impress his attractive co-worker (Jayma Mayes).

It was the surprise top draw at the box office during the extended weekend, and was expected to earn an estimated $40 million through this past Monday.

We caught up with James last week to ask the tough questions only a mall cop could answer.

Q. What's your fascination with mall cops?

A. I think their story just needed to be told. I think everybody was wondering what's going on with these guys. It's not an easy job. I don't think they get the respect they deserve.

Q. Are you being serious right now or are you kidding?

A. A little bit of both.

Q. How did you go about researching the role? Did you shadow a few mall cops?

A. We did ride-alongs (on Segways).

Q. I didn't realize mall cops use Segways.

A. Yeah, a lot of them do, actually. We wanted to make (the story) real, so once we found out they were really using them, we were excited. I did a lot of (Segway) turns (while shooting). I got overconfident, too, and wiped out a couple times.

There were tons of bruises.

Q. Paul Blart is no ordinary mall cop. This guy has depth: He's hypoglycemic; he's on the online dating circuit.

A. He's trying to become a real cop, and he keeps falling short, literally, when trying to pass that test. (One scene shows him collapsing at the police academy finish line.) But he loves his job as a mall cop. He takes pride in his work, and he's happy to do it. We wanted to make a movie that wouldn't just insult mall cops; we're not making fun of them, but (we're) actually rooting for this guy.

Q. You continually play these Everyman, regular Joes. Would you ever want to do something a bit more complicated?

A. It'd be nice to actually change it up. But always, no matter what I play, I hope to bring an element of that (regular Joe). 'Cause that's who I am: I'm an everyday guy. I don't know what I'm doing differently (from average Joes) other than acting — which I've been very fortunate to have a career in — but I love connecting with people. I think I want people to watch me because they might think, "I could be that guy."

Q. Do you think of mall cops differently now that you've portrayed one?

A. I feel for them. They have to uphold the law and they don't have weapons or authority. So how do you do that? They have the same authority as any of the shoppers — to make a citizen's arrest. If there's a real emergency, all they can really do is call the real cops.

Q. Have you gotten any feedback on "Paul Blart" from real mall cops?

A. Yeah, actually. We screened the movie with mall cops (in Los Angeles) and they loved it. It's their "Rocky."