‘I WAS BANNED FROM THE ROCK'S GYM!'

JACK WHITEHALL ON HILARIOUS MOMENTS WORKING WITH SUPERSTARS DWAYNE JOHNSON AND EMILY BLUNT IN DISNEY BLOCKBUSTER JUNGLE CRUISE AND WHY HE BASED HIS CHARACTER ON HIS SHARP-SUITED DAD

- ADAM TANSWELL

British comedian Jack Whitehall is making quite the name for himself in Hollywood and his latest role, in Disney’s Jungle Cruise, has cemented his position as one of our top exports.

In the family film, Jack, 33, plays dapper McGregor, the brother of Emily Blunt’s character and who he describes as a “classic English gentleman who is dragged into this incredible adventure to the Amazon”.

Starring alongside Emily and Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, proved to be good fun for Jack, who’s also known for his travels with his grumpy father, Michael, hosting the Brits and appearing in A League Of Their Own. Here, he explains why he had such good chemistry with Emily, why McGregor reminds him of his dad and working out with former wrestler Dwayne...

Hi, Jack. You star in Jungle Cruise – but how would you handle life in the Amazon?

If I was in the Amazon I would not fare very well. I can relate to that aspect of my character. Everything bad happens to him and he’s put through the wringer in the story.

McGregor’s wardrobe looks frighteningly similar to the ones we see from your shows with your dad…

It’s funny you should say that, because there are definitely people who I’ve taken inspiration from for this character. My father is one of them because McGregor very much feels like my dad. He is a resistant traveller who is very well turned out and a very proper man. There are definitely elements of him in there.

Who else served as inspiration?

Whenever you’re creating a character, you often find certain similarities from within yourself, so there are elements of me in him too. To be honest, it’s not the biggest stretch.