We all know that Justin Timberlake is the current reigning "King of Pop" in the music world. What we're sure many fans didn't know was that the former N'Sync frontman would go on to have an interesting, smart, and fairly respectable side-career as an actor. After landing roles in Edison and Alpha Dog, two films that kept getting pushed back to the point where we almost didn't see them at all, Justin Timberlake went on to appear in Southland tales, Black Snake Moan, and Shrek the Third. At the same time, Timberlake also kept his music career on track, smashing the charts with his massively successful second solo release, "Future Sex/Love Sounds". Also finding time to appear on Saturday Night Live, Timberlake co-starred in the hilarious "Dick in a Box" sketch, which turned out to be one of the best SNL segments of the past decade.

Now Justin Timberlake will soon be seen in the Mike Myers toplined comedy, The Love Guru in which he plays the frizzy-haired, busy moustached, Speedo wearing, French-Canadian, Jacques "Le Coq" Grande, star goalie for the L.A. Kings. Lending support to Myers, who plays an American raised by gurus from India, Timberlake is giving fans a side of himself that just might top his SNL appearance. Justin Timberlake as "Le Coq" in a Speedo... that's all you need to know.

At the film's recent press junket, Timberlake sat down with the press to enlighten fans of the hilarious spirituality of The Love Guru, his French-Canadian accent, his music, and what's next for the "SexyBack" singer turned Speedo clad hockey star.

How many people so far have told you how you steal this movie?

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: That’s nice, a couple of people. They didn’t use those exact words, but I’m hearing that people are liking the movie, so that’s the most you can hope for.

Celine Dion will be a huge fan?

TIMBERLAKE: I think so. Actually, I think she knows about the whole - I think that Mike called her - because Mike is very sweet. He’s really a sweetheart, you know. And I think that he called her to make sure that it’s okay that we sort of like had a male obsessive, hockey-playing fan. And she loved it. So...

Where did you go to get this guy?

TIMBERLAKE: A lot of it was Mike’s creation. I have to give him credit. But, I sort of - we did improv a lot, and we found that the more jovial the character was, the funnier it was. The more he actually was like, kind of like fun and loving, because he he kind of is a sweet guy - he just is ridiculous, you know. So we found the more happy and fun we made Jacques Grande, the better it played.

Was it hard for you to keep a straight face sometimes?

TIMBERLAKE: I mean, you’ve seen the outfit and the thing, right? Yeah, it was a task. Yeah.

Not you?

TIMBERLAKE: No, not me. It’s kind of funny though, you know. I got into the zone where I would put this gear on and I would not come out of character. I would stay with Mike a lot of times in character and we just had a ball with it. We would keep riffing and riffing, even in between takes we would keep riffing.

Well since you mentioned the Speedo scene, getting set for that, that’s got to be one of those moments where you say, "What am I doing?"

TIMBERLAKE: I had a couple of those moments. I think I literally said, "What the hell am I doing?" And then after that you just go for it.

Have you seen it yet? What do you think?

TIMBERLAKE: You know, it is the Mike Myers show. And if you like that, you’ll love it. I find it interesting that this is my review of the film. I find it interesting that Mike has carved out his own genre of comedy. It’s hard enough to do a comedy that works, but Mike has created his own genre. So, I’ve noticed that people going into this movie are - they’re willing to accept the ride that they’re being given because it’s Mike, because he has created that stage for himself with the Austin Powers and Wayne’s World and these crazy worlds that he puts his audience in. I think that people like to go and check out for a second and laugh their butts off.

What does acting give you that music doesn’t? How do you balance it?

TIMBERLAKE: I mean, it is a different process than music. It’s different for a lot of reasons and it’s similar for a lot of reasons. But I think what you get is it’s more - I find acting to be more a study in just human behavior. Music is a study in, to me, in the romanticizing of human behavior. And I’ve found, specifically with the dramas that I’ve done, that acting is the "un-romanticizing" - that’s not a word - is the opposite of the romantics of human behavior. Until you do The Love Guru.

Does recording an album have the same hurry-up-and-wait factor that making a movie does?

TIMBERLAKE: Recording an album is a lot less organized. It’s a lot more on a whim. For instance, the last album I did, I would work for two weeks and then take a week off. And then work for two weeks and then take a week off. And whatever I got out of there, I would just keep pounding away at. But, I find that with a film, film takes longer to do because the process is more organized. You write the film. You get the film green lit. You find the director. You know that happens around the same time you cast the players. You film the film. You edit the film. You score the film, you know. With music, you’re sort of doing all that at the same time. You’re writing - I’m writing and recording at the same time. I’m going back, fixing lyrics, fixing notes, adding piano to certain tones, adding guitar to certain songs, redoing the drums. You’re constant, you’re editing, you’re producing, you’re directing, you’re writing all at the same time. And you’re performing it all at the same time.

The Love Guru: Speedos and Spirituality with Justin Timberlake Page 2