Peter Weller still has a smoking-hot presence.

RoboCop is fired up. For the past few minutes, over a Don Pepin JJ Sublime in New York's Grand Havana Room, he's been cool and comfortable talking about virtually any topic. But now the subject of cigar politics has come up -- specifically, that it could become illegal in New Jersey to light up in your own car -- and he's raging.

"How can they do that?" he demands. "In Beverly Hills now they won't even let you smoke outside." Sigh. "That's insanity."

Peter Weller began puffing in earnest after filming an HBO movie shot in Toronto in 1983. That Cuban H. Upmann Corona began his passion for cigars, one that ranks up there along with acting, directing and Italian Renaissance history (no kidding -- he teaches the stuff after getting his master's just a few years ago).

These days he's directing small features, in between popping up occasionally on The History Channel to walk around ruins and make even Roman sewage systems sound fascinating. But cigars still remain one of his first loves. "The cigar by its very nature promotes discourse. It dissuades animosity. It takes the edge off contention." I'm beginning to see his inner Mister Chips, a sense of grandiose from the man who used to wear a bulky steel uniform and clean up the streets of on-screen Detroit. But it's not off-putting. You're just aware he's the smartest guy in the room.

He recently directed an episode of Las Vegas with pal Tom Selleck, who smokes mostly high-end Padróns, says Weller. Like most of us, Weller appreciates the bonding that happens over sticks. "It doesn't matter your sexual persuasion, race, creed or religion. There is something magical about a guy and another guy -- or a woman, once in a while -- who appreciate cigars. It calms people down in an extraordinarily fragile and ridiculously narcissistic business where there’s nothing but egos at stake."

Egos and Good Smokes

So who in Hollywood shares nicely with others? Not the Terminator. While Weller thinks cinema's other iconic cyborg makes a great governor, he's ready to bust the man who could audit his taxes. "Schwarzenegger owes me cigars, man. I've never seen him offer anyone a cigar and I've offered him plenty," he says. "Once at a World Cup, I said, 'What are you smoking down there, Arnold?' and he said, 'Whatever's free, Peter.'"

Ever the teacher, he's ready with a lesson on good cigar manners. "There's an etiquette about cigars that I learned in Cuba, when I was there legally. If you display a cigar, you always offer one. Everywhere you go, 'What do you think of these? Here, have one.' Here in the United States, a couple of guys I know go, 'What do you think of these?' And then shut them back up in their humidor."

One man who did offer him a cigar -- the strongest he ever smoked -- was director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Top Gun). It was an H. Upmann served at 7 a.m. with a latte and croissant. "After, I had to go take a nap," says the man who smoked 10 cigars a day in Cuba. "It was like smoking oil. Tasted great, but it was truly heavy."

Inside the Smokers Studio

As for his own favorite smoking on-the-job, Weller admits the best environment was during his guest spot on the Fox series 24 two seasons ago. The producers of the show had built their own cigar room on the set, a sort of miniature Grand Havana Room.

"My part got better because of it," he says. The unwritten law might have been that nothing about the show was discussed in the cigar room, but that sailed out of the room's ductworks along with the smoke. "The arc of Christopher Henderson truly came out of us smoking cigars in that damn room." Weller says one of the things that kept him on the series was the fan mail he got from mentors like Mike Nichols praising his work. The producers were also very accommodating. "I kept running to Egypt or Greece or someplace and they would say 'No problem, we'll pick this up when you get back.' So it was a thrill."

Resilience

On the subject of his most famous role, Weller is honest and to the point. "I was very happy I did RoboCop. I was very happy I left it. Like Dean Martin said about Jerry Lewis. I'm very grateful to RoboCop."

Several cigars and an espresso later, Weller tears through The New York Times Crossword Puzzle (Friday, a tough one) and then rises to leave. He's off to direct a small film in New Orleans, a city he still calls home part of the year, along with Los Angeles and Positano, Italy. A place close to his heart, obviously; he's optimistic about its recovery. "The South is very resilient, brother."

Like that poetic city, Peter Weller is resilient, brother. Just keep him out of cars in New Jersey.

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