Daily News from New York, New York • 49

low interview 0 if 1 a Sir nil (01 ''V v'ii Plays it straight in PG pics, sidekick roles A By ROBERT POMINGUEZ Daily News Staff Writer HEECH MARIN HAS ACTED WITH SOME PRETTY I offbeat co-stars and he'd be the first to tell you that includes long-time partner Tommy Chong. Now, the 51-year-old Marin, best known as the U1 Chicano half of the Cheech and Chong comedy team of the '70s and early '80s, is co-starring with a talking parrot in "Paulie," a kids' film opening tomorrow. In a brief role, Marin plays the singing owner of a taco stand. In person, Marin is the opposite of his "Cheech" persona the dimwitted doper. Born and reared in East L.A., Marin (real name: Richard) is a cop's son.

An English-lit major in college, he speaks with nary a trace of the Chicano accent he affects for many of his 1 A I MM- firirijf tmmmtm'mHmmriWm'imm-tmr 'irn'ri ''(rirr" roles. Since his 1984 breakup with Chong, Marin has made a steady living doing voices in animated films such as 1984's "The Lion King" and providing comedy relief for the likes of Kevin Costner in 1996's "Tin Cup." He is Don Johnson's detective sidekick on CBS' "Nash Bridges. Q. It seems that whenever the part calls for a friendly, funny Latino type like in "Paulie" you get the call. Do you feel typecast? A.

Not really. The prejudice I had to get over was not necessarily being A. You get to a point where you don't want to have to take any guff from everybody else. Tommy really wanted to be known as a director. He wanted to really kind of take over, and the collaboration stopped.

It came down to control." Q. How's the relationship now? ON THE BILL: Marin friend in "Paulie" A. It's okay. It's not great It was like when your little brother gets bigger than you and it's hard to deal with that You can either deal with it or resent it, and Tommy chose to resent it and be insecure about it It's very sad. Q.

Do you get offers to reunite? A. All the time. And I've been tempted to do it a couple of times, but then the times we get together those old animosities surface almost immediately. I don't want to be these 50, 60-year-old guys going around in a headband and a low rider. Q.

You seem to be having a nice run on TV with "Nash Bridges," as Don Johnson's sidekick. A. I'm there to back Johnson up and be stable. That's what I always brought to a partnership. That's why Ron Shelton cast me in "Tin Cup." He knew I would be a real rock against Kevin Costner.

He knew I wouldn't allow him to be arch. Q. You've practically turned "the sidekick" into an art form. Wouldn't you rather be the star? A. My point of view is, the sidekick really is the star.

He gets all the best lines, he gets the funny stuff and every once in a while he gets the girl. It's a much cooler place. Latino, it was being "Cheech." How do you break out of this image the guy with the big mustache and the low rider and smoking dope, and have them accept you as anything else once that partnership breaks up? It took a long time. Q. How'd you get away from it? A.

The thing that helped me break it was being in animated films and being in family entertainment, which was the antithesis of what Cheech and Chong were doing. Q. Just how much of that doper image was real? A. We smoked as much as everybody else. We were just regular guys.

Actually, the truth of the matter is we belonged to the YMCA all during those years we toured. We'd play basketball, lift weights every day. It was cool, it was discipline, and it made us be together all the time. Tommy and I were always together. That's why that camaraderie that comes off the screen wasn't forced.

It's real. Q. So why the breakup? NELAYNC KIDMAN TO CHEECH HIS OWN: His days are behind him. From Pot Luck to Hyena Times 'Nash Bridges' East L.A." (1987), a comedy about a Mexican-American (Marin) mistakenly deported. TV Roles: Had a part on sitcom "The Golden Palace" in 1992, currently plays a cop on CBS' "Nash Bridges." Other Movie Roles: Voice of Banzai the Hyena in "The Lion King" (1994); also "Desperado" and "From Dusk Till Dawn" (both 1995), "Tin Cup" (1996).

R.D. Chong," "Big Bambu," "The Wedding Album," "Sleeping Beauty," "Let's Make a New Dope Deal." Movies (with Chong): Include "Up in Smoke" (1978), "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie" (1980), "Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams" (1981), "Still Smokin' (1983) "Cheech and Chong's. 'The Corsican Brothers' (1984) Directorial Debut: "Bom in Name: Cheech Marin Real Name: Richard Anthony Marin. Nickname "Cheech" is short for chi-charron (fried pork rind). Born: July 13, 1946, in L.A.

Early Career: Worked with Tommy Chong in an im-prov group in the early '70s. Later formed comedy team Cheech and Chong. They broke up in 1984. Comedy Albums (with Chong): Include "Cheech and OJNPROJEpT; (I.) VUpm Smoke".