Being known as the man who drank an Ex-lax-spiked coffee may not seem like the best catalyst for a successful career in Hollywood, but Jeff Daniels seems to be flourishing. In fact, he’s even taken to moving behind the camera.

“Super Sucker,” released Friday at three theaters in Columbus, is the second outing for Daniels as both director and writer, following “Escanaba in da Moonlight.”

Daniels said these two films are probably his favorite films he’s done.

“There’s just so much of me in there and so much time and effort that those two probably mean the most to me,” he said.

Daniels said playing the role of director is something he enjoys doing when he gets to act and write as well.

“It wasn’t just enough to direct — I really wanted to direct something I had written, so I formed a film production company out in Michigan where I live,” he said.

Although he has done dramatic work since he gained fame in “Dumb and Dumber,” Daniels said he really enjoys doing comedy. He said the style of comedy in “Super Sucker” isn’t just the slapstick “Dumb and Dumber” fans might expect.

“We’re getting a lot of feedback and what we’re hearing is that it’s very smart,” he said. “There are the obvious ‘Dumb and Dumber’ jokes — I mean its a comedy about a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman … so it’s got this wildness to it, like ‘Dumb and Dumber.’ “

“Underneath there, there are secondary jokes and even third tier jokes that, if you see it twice or you’re really paying attention, you’ll hear that might go by the first time,” he said.

Daniels said the plot of the film does lead to a few slapstick jokes, too.

“I’m a salesman and I’m going to lose my job because I’m not doing that well, and then I discover my wife having sex with a vacuum cleaner and a drapery attachment called ‘The Homemaker’s Little Helper,’ ” he said.

Inspired by his work with co-star Jim Carrey and directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Daniels said he always tries to make his films funnier.

“I love trying to figure out what’s funny and how to make it funnier,” he said. “That was part of the joy of working on ‘Dumb and Dumber’ — the four of us would sit there and go, ‘This is funny, but how do we make it funnier?’ And I just love that part of it. That’s what we’re trying to do with ‘Super Sucker.'”

Daniels said he has been influenced by the directors he’s worked with before, specifically Woody Allen. Daniels and Allen worked on “The Purple Rose of Cairo” together and Daniels named both his theater and film company — “Purple Rose Theatre Company” and “Purple Rose Films” — after the film.

“They’re all kind of sitting behind me as I’m getting ready to point the camera in a certain direction,” Daniels said. “I can almost hear Woody say ‘I’d put it here’ or Robert Altman say ‘I’d put it there’ or Mike Nichols say ‘I’d put it there.’ “

Daniels has starred in both drama and action films, but he said his favorite roles range from “Dumb and Dumber” to “Fly Away Home” to “Pleasantville.”

“I love the range because it creates so many opportunities,” he said. “The reason why I’m in all those movies is because, not long ago, I was doing ‘Gettysburg’ and ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ and you create this 180-degree range of characters you can do — that opens up opportunities in between those extremes.”

“I think the wide range helps because when I walk on a set with Clint Eastwood, he actually knows who I am and he likes my work — that opens up a lot of doors,” he said.

Daniels’ latest film, “The Hours,” won the 2003 Golden Globe for best drama and he will next be seen in “Gods and Generals,” the prequel to “Gettysburg.” While Daniels said he likes acting in dramas, he’d rather write and direct comedies.

“The independent film world is full of filmmakers making serious and meaningful films, but there’s a room for independent filmmakers who are making comedies and that’s a much less crowded room, and I like being in that room.”

Daniels said he’d like to continue directing in Michigan if he can get the funding.

“If ‘Super Sucker’ does well, we’ll get the chance to do it again and I’ve got an idea for a third film — a comedy,” he said. “We just have to see how ‘Super Sucker’ does.”