Blame "D--- in a Box." Justin Timberlake has put his day job aside once again to concentrate on films, but hey, at least he's giving you something to smile about this time around.
"I do love to make people laugh," Timberlake said. "My favorite thing to do when I was a kid was to make my parents laugh. I'd always goof around the house and do stuff like that. And to actually have that as a job, I feel pretty lucky."
This time, that job has him stepping into the role of well-endowed, porn-'stached hockey star Jacque "Le Coq" Grande in the comedy "The Love Guru," also starring Mike Myers and Jessica Alba. It's a far cry from his past roles in dramas such as "Alpha Dog," "Southland Tales" and "Black Snake Moan."
"I'd say I'm not strong in either [genre]," Timberlake said of drama vs. comedy. "I don't know why people keep giving me jobs, but I am going to take them."
JT doesn't have to choose sides for his next film project, one that puts him alongside "Big Lebowski" star Jeff Bridges. "It's actually the first film that's really a dramedy," Timberlake said. "It really has both elements of comedy and drama. It's kind of a slice-of-life type of film, and it's called 'The Open Road.' Jeff and I play father and son."
The actor formerly known as "The Dude" (and the summer's biggest bad guy, thanks to "Iron Man") didn't share White Russians with the 27-year-old in between takes, but life imitated art in another way: Bridges was a father figure for Timberlake on- and offscreen.
"He is, without a doubt, my favorite actor I've ever worked with," Timberlake said. "He is the best. To work with somebody who's been doing it that well for so long — and still to be so collaborative and into it as much as I was — I looked at that and said, 'I want to be you when I grow up.' "
Even though Timberlake hasn't released an album of his own since FutureSex/LoveSounds, he admitted, "I don't think I could ever give up music. I think that's my first love."
Now the singer is showing his charitable side during his current downtime. "I'm actually working with some of my artists in the studio," he said. "It's kind of fun to help other people realize their craft. ... I see so much of myself in them when I first started in the studio. It's nice to be able to pass on the little bit I've learned."
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