By Maggie Cassidy

Steve Zahn, known for acting in films like “Saving Silverman,” “Joy Ride” and “Shattered Glass,” as well as a recently heralded dramatic performance in “Rescue Dawn,” is taking on a new guise: oblivious wildlife TV show host in the season’s latest comedy, “Strange Wilderness,” which hits theatres Feb. 1.

“Strange Wilderness” follows the career of Peter Gaulke, played by Zahn, after he inherits his father’s animal wildlife TV show. Peter, however, is a sub-par host, recording such voiceovers as “Beavers are believed to be a distant relative of the watermelon.”

Ratings plummet and the show is threatened with the ax, so Zahn decides to make a last-ditch effort: find and film Bigfoot. Comedy ensues as Zahn and his crew, sprinkled with names like Jonah Hill (“Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and “Accepted”) and Justin Long (“Accepted” and “Dodgeball”), embark on their journey and meet obstacles along the way.

In a nationwide college media conference call Saturday, Zahn discussed his varied career, his transition between roles, his reaction to early reviews calling “Strange Wilderness” a “stoner movie” and why he thinks the film will do well in the box office.

“I read this script and I laughed so hard when I read it,” he said. “And then after I read it I thought, ‘am I just laughing because I just did ‘Rescue Dawn’ and I’m in Hanoi (where it was filmed) and I’m in my hotel in my underwear?’ So I read it again and