Michael Phelps is strolling the red carpet with rock stars.
He's sitting knee-to-knee with Oprah, signing book deals, making cameos, commanding attention from Access Hollywood, canoodling - as the tabloids say - with young ladies, endorsing products and ringing the New York Stock Exchange opening bell.
Earlier this week, he's hunched into Jay Leno's seat of honor, squirming a bit as the host prods him about what a big deal it will be to host Saturday Night Live (which he's doing tonight on NBC).
"That's got to be exciting!" Leno says.
Phelps draws a deep, anxious breath and admits that just the night before, at the MTV Video Music Awards, he wrestled with a major case of nerves before introducing a rap star on live TV. SNL, he doesn't need to add, only means more camera time, more lines, more chances to mess up, more national scrutiny and so, so much more heart-thumping anxiety.
"For the run-through I felt fine, like not nervous at all," the Olympian tells Leno. "But when I got there, I was like, 'Oh gosh, this is going to be tough.' "
It didn't seem tough for Phelps a month ago in Beijing, when he sliced through the pool with unparalleled speed and drive to bring home more gold than any athlete in history.
And yet with this new business of celebrity, in which he's immersed up to his ears, the 23-year-old Baltimore native is struggling for footing.
It's a transition that has tripped up many a sports star but vaulted others - Michael Jordan, Terry Bradshaw, Lance Armstrong, the Williams sisters, the Manning brothers, Shaquille O'Neal - to even higher stratospheres of success.
As for how successful a pitchman or entertainer Michael Phelps can be, "the jury is still out," says Matt Eventoff, a partner with PPS Associates, which trains business people, politicians and entertainers for public appearances.
"If he puts his heart into his message and his speaking style the way he did in his swimming, the sky is the limit."
As Phelps attempts to pull off a funny monologue tonight and tries his hand at acting in a number of skits, people should get a decent read on the likelihood of his following other sports heroes to second careers on the big and small screens.
In a conference call with the media between rehearsals Thursday, Phelps said the nerves he felt at the MTV awards have ebbed, replaced with excitement to perform on the same stage as Adam Sandler and the late Chris Farley - his favorite SNL alums.
