N.Y. suits him best at this stage

Actor Christian Slater is on the move again, leaving L.A. once more to return to his roots in New York, where he has been busy doing theater and preparing for his part in “Sweet Bird of Youth” in London.

Slater listed his Brentwood home of three years at just under $5.7 million. He purchased it for about $4.5 million.

The 6,500-square-foot house, in a gated community, has five bedrooms, including a master-bedroom suite with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace; 6 1/2 bathrooms; a pine-paneled library; a dining room opening to a patio with a fountain; and a third-floor studio with a bathroom and a balcony. On the grounds are a pool and a spa.

The actor, 36, plays an FBI agent in the thriller “Mindhunters,” which was released in May. He costarred in “Windtalkers”(2002) and “The Contender” (2000).

Slater bought his first house when he was 19. At 30, he sold a Hollywood Hills home to comic-actor Tim Allen for $2.2 million. Slater then returned to New York City, where he was born and raised, but in 2002 he came back to California and purchased the newly built traditional in Brentwood.

He is looking to buy in New York, where he intends to pursue more work on Broadway.

Slater recently completed successful runs of “The Glass Menagerie” on Broadway, playing the role of Tom, brother of the fragile heroine, and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in London’s West End.

Jamie Parsons of Coldwell Banker-Brentwood East has the listing.

Hollywood Hills is his new reality

Since he began filming a British TV adventure series in April, Jack Osbourne, son of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, has changed his appearance and his home front.

The 19-year-old, who also appeared in the MTV reality show about his family, replaced his look as a chub wearing a mop of curls with his new, svelte self sporting a faux hawk. He then bought a new home and put his old one on the market.

“He wants to turn his new home into a mini-compound,” said Kyle Grasso, who shares the listing on the former home with Joe Babajian, both with Prudential-John Aaroe, Beverly Hills.

His previous home, in the Beverly Center area, is listed at about $1.4 million. The house, built in 1934, has two bedrooms and 2 1/2 remodeled bathrooms in 2,300 square feet. It’s Spanish in style and has a fireplace, wet bar and patio.

The home that Osbourne just purchased, for about $1.6 million, is in the Hollywood Hills.

A new life for ‘Six Feet Under’ actor

James Cromwell, who played Ruth Fisher’s second husband in the HBO series “Six Feet Under,” and his wife, actress-director Julie Cobb (from whom he filed for divorce), have sold their Sherman Oaks home for its asking price of $2.25 million.

The Cromwells had remodeled the home, built in 1937, and listed it almost a year ago after becoming empty nesters. He filed for divorce in January after more than 18 years of marriage.

The Connecticut-style farmhouse, behind gates, has four bedrooms plus maid’s quarters, a sunroom and a den in 3,700-plus square feet.

The property includes a guesthouse, artist’s studio, gardener’s shed, pool, spa and boccie court on nearly 1 acre of grounds.

Rick Chimienti of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, represented the buyers, and Cissy Wellman of Coldwell Banker, Studio City and Brentwood, had the listing, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

The house that ‘Hellboy’ bought

Mike Mignola, creator of the comic book series “Hellboy,” is moving his family from a small New York City apartment to a 4,500-square-foot Manhattan Beach home, which he bought for $2.4 million.

The five-bedroom Cape Cod-style house has a gourmet kitchen and a family room that overlooks a sunny courtyard.

Mignola says that he and his family are celebrating Hellboy’s ongoing cult-like success by making the move. The character, a demon that fights evil, debuted in 1994 and quickly gained fame. A film adaptation was released in 2004.

Ed Kaminsky of Shorewood Realtors, Manhattan Beach, represented the buyers.

To see previous columns on celebrity transactions visit latimes.com/hotproperty.