Mr. Clean

You’d probably see Oscar-winner Ben Johnson (Best Supporting Actor, “The Last Picture Show,� 1971) more often on the big screen, but he’s got a strict rule about the films he appears in: “No cuss words, no pornography.�

Now 71, he’s been involved in some lower-budget movies of late--�Cherry 2000,� “Back to Back,� “Dark Before Dawn,� all of which he admits he hasn’t seen--but he’s singing the praises of his latest.

In producer Martin Poll’s recently-wrapped “Home Grown,� with Scott Glenn, Tess Harper and Kate Capshaw, Johnson portrays the father of Glenn, a footloose rodeo rider who brings home a brood of wayward kids that need a home.

“You can take your family to that one,� drawled the easygoing ex-cowboy and stunt man, who now lives in Arizona.

Meanwhile, he’s a part-owner of rights to the venerable project, “The Cowboy and the Cossack,� which glasnost has helped revive (it’s set in Russia).

“Armand Hammer’s people have indicated they might want to put up half the funds,� Johnson said. “We may get it made yet.�