He's known to zombie geeks the world over as Ash, the square-jawed, wise-cracking antihero of director Sam Raimi's "Evil Dead" trilogy. But fans are about to get a whole new reanimated look at Bruce Campbell with "My Name is Bruce" -- the actor's long-awaited movie that finds Campbell playing himself.

But "My Name is Bruce" is hardly a documentary: It's a horror comedy that finds Campbell in a parallel universe of sorts, assuming the off-screen persona that could only be imagined by fans. In fact, they take his larger-than-life presence so seriously that he's recruited by the residents of a small town to help battle a legendary creature that's been lopping off villagers' heads one by one.

In real real life, Campbell's always been accessible to his fans, either through his book tours (he wrote the bestseller autobiography "If Chins Could Kill"), his Web site or festivals to celebrate the "Evil Dead" movies or specifically, "Army of Darkness."

Nearing the end of a nationwide tour to open "Bruce" in select theaters, the 50-year-old Michigan native told @ The Movies that his philosophy is simple: You do the work and people pay for it. And when it comes to selling it, you give them what they want.

"I enjoy touring because it puts you directly in touch with your customers," Campbell said. "I get to hear what they like and what they don't like and they hassle you. We do these Q&A sessions after the movies and they're very fun. They're very spirited and sometimes they bicker and argue, and I cajole and torment, and they insult and I throw it back. It's a love-hate thing."

In "My Name is Bruce," Campbell takes an unusual route to helping out the residents of Goldluck, Ore. -- he's kidnapped by a super-devoted fan.

And while the concept of a stalker obsessing over a celebrity in real life isn't that far-fetched, Campbell is hardly concerned in real life that any stalker would try bothering him.

"I think because I make myself accessible enough, the mystery is gone," said Campbell, who's made cameos in Raimi's "Spider-Man" movies and starred in several other films including "Sky High" and "Bubba Ho-tep." "I don't think I'd really be kidnapped because you only kidnap some (celebrity) if you think you got a one-shot opportunity to meet them. Whereas with my fans, it's like, 'Hey, we'll see you in Cherry Hill, N.J., next month,.' Then you're in Cherry Hill, they're like, 'Oh, hi Bruce, we'll see you in Baltimore next year.' I'm not a phantom to them."

And with "My Name is Bruce," Campbell, who also directed the film, said that he's taken his relationship with the fans one step further and pokes fun of himself -- and his admirers -- in the process.

"This movie is very specifically done for fans," Campbell explained. "I normally don't go, 'What would my fans like?' when I think about a project. But in this case, because of the original concept of it, about a guy named 'Bruce Campbell,' then all bets are off. If I'm going to lampoon me, then I'm going to take the fans down with me."