It's 1 p.m.

People are waiting patiently at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco for Jonathan Jackson, the star of Disney's "Tuck Everlasting."

But there's a problem: No one can seem to find him.

"I think he's still out to lunch," one of his reps says.

"He's a bit tired," says another. "It's been a long week."

Evidently the 20-year-old Jackson, best known for his role as Lucky Spencer on ABC's daytime soap opera "General Hospital" and his recent role in this summer's Al Pacino-Robin Williams thriller, "Insomnia," has been on an exhausting press tour — six cities in six days — during this week in August. San Francisco is his last stop, and this is his next-to-last interview.

After 30 minutes, the elusive actor is located. He had been napping with his wife, Lisa Vultaggio, 29, also a former star of "General Hospital," in their room on the hotel's secured eighth floor.

"Ah, you know those newlyweds," says one of the reps, flitting her wrist in reference to the couple, who just got married in June.

A short time later, a bright-eyed, freshly groomed Jackson enters the hotel room. He's dressed comfortably, clad in a gray printed T-shirt, black leather jacket, jeans and athletic shoes. ("I just grabbed this shirt and put it on," he says to the photographer.) His dirty-blond hair, shorter than in "Tuck," which helps display his boyish good looks, is slicked back on the sides with gel.

Based on the book

"Tuck Everlasting," which is based on Natalie Babbitt's award-winning children's book, is the story of Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel of "The Gilmore Girls"), who stumbles across the Tuck family and learns their closely guarded secret, which could affect her relationship with one of the Tuck sons, Jesse (Jackson). The film's cast also includes Academy Award-winners William Hurt, Sissy Spacek and Ben Kingsley.

The movie brings up weighty philosophical issues pertaining to immortality and death. These are things to which Jackson has given some thought, due to his religious beliefs.

"I think the only way I'd want to live forever is if it was in a perfect place and if I was also perfect," he says. "I think, like, heaven, if I could live forever there, yeah, that'd be great. Living forever down here on Earth would be more torture than a blessing."

And Jackson isn't afraid of what life ultimately brings: death.

"I think everyone, naturally, is afraid of growing old, but I have a really strong faith, and I think that will ultimately win out over fear. I'm not really afraid of dying. I mean, naturally, everyone is. I believe in heaven, so that makes death not as scary."

The acting bug

Although virtually unknown to most moviegoers, Jackson has been acting since 11, when he and his 23-year-old brother, fellow actor Richard Lee Jackson, got the acting bug after a trip to Universal Studios from Washington state.

"My brother and I both got really excited about acting from that vacation," he says. "So we came home and asked our parents if we could do it. They were really supportive."

After 41/2 months in Los Angeles and a few commercials under his belt, Jackson beat out thousands of hopefuls for the part of Lucky on "GH," a role that certified him, in later years, as a teen heartthrob. He also was nominated six times for Outstanding Younger Actor at the Daytime Emmys, taking the award home three of the times.

"I had an awesome time (on 'GH')," he says. "I learned a lot from acting with Tony (Geary) and Genie (Francis) (who played his parents, Luke and Laura Spencer). The crew and the people became a family for those years."

Jackson left "GH" in 1999, to pursue feature films. While on the show he appeared in "The Deep End of the Ocean" with Michelle Pfeiffer and "Skeletons in the Closet" with Treat Williams, but found it difficult to do both film and television with "GH's" 48-week-a-year shooting schedule.

But leaving wasn't an easy decision, Jackson says.

"I think the hardest part (of leaving 'GH') is the security of consistent work," he says. "And, if you can kind of be patient, and wait for the right projects. You have to be ready to be out of work for a while, waiting for the right movie."

Interest in music, too

Besides acting, Jackson writes music for his band, Jono and the Rock, for which he and brother Richard Lee sing and play guitar.

"It's modern rock music. A lot of influences from U2 to P.O.D.," he says. "We hope to start rehearsing and performing live soon.

"But the trick for us is trying to do both. We're not really going with a big record company, so that we can continue to be free and continue acting."

And the family affair doesn't stop there: Aside from acting together in films, such as the indie flick "True Rights," Jackson and his brother also recently directed and co-wrote a short film "Crystal Clear." It won three awards at the Brooklyn Film Festival this year, including best dramatic short, a Coen Brothers Award for duo filmmakers and best actor for Jackson.

Aside from the entertainment industry, Jackson is passionate about his religion, Christianity, and enjoys ministering to young people through Wildbranch, a nonprofit foundation that advises the teaching of both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

"My brother and I go to different schools and talk and encourage young kids," he says. "I hope to keep that stuff in motion. It is kind of what I'm most passionate about."

But right now, Jackson and new wife Vultaggio, who has taken a break from acting, are just enjoying their time together.

"She probably will act once in a while, but she's not really pursuing it, he says. "We're just having fun being married."