Hollywood Popular Artists

by Ryan Downey

Chris Klein may have skipped "American Wedding" but he put his entire body on the line for "American Reunion." The fourth theatrically released film in the "American Pie" series finds his character (Oz) a minor celebrity forced to endure the humiliations of a "Dancing with the Stars" type TV show. Chris told MTV News he was very game for the number of comedic dance routines, so much so, he even injured his right knee.

"I've got stunts, I bring the stunts," he said. When the "Harold & Kumar" writer / director team of Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg approached him about all of the dancing in "Reunion," he was quick to show them what he's got. He did the same for MTV in the video below.

"They said, 'listen, do you have moves?' And I said I do have moves," he said. "And then you throw the 'spears.' You've got to throw the spears, man. Then pop. And a little vogue. Pop and lock, vogue, pop and lock, you know? And then my all time favorite: you've got to back it up. Face it, boom!"

In the film, Oz is constantly pushed around by Mia ("30 Rock"'s Katrina Bowden) who cheats on him but champions his B-list celebrity endeavors at the same time. While visiting his hometown and meeting up with the old gang (there's a throwaway line where he apologizes for missing the "Wedding"), Oz starts to wonder whether or not he should have ended up with Heather (Mena Suvari) instead.

During one scene in "Reunion," the rest of the gang and several partygoers watch a video of Oz's embarrassing defeat on the dance show. There's no mistaking the fact that Klein gave it his all on screen, in an athletic performance that displays the killer physique the actor has maintained.

"[Jon and Hayden] were like, 'What do you think?' I said, 'Let's give it a shot and let's see what happens.' I got together with a couple of choreographers who did a beautiful job. I tried. I gave it my best 'White Men Can't Dance' and did the thing. We had a really good time with it."

As fun as the whole experience was, it wasn't without its consequences.

"I'm a 32 year old man. We're not allowed to actually do moves like that. Even if we could, it's an unwritten rule, like, when you're past 30. I tore my meniscus in my right knee trying to do a kick up! I obviously can't do it. I mean, I almost broke my leg!"

For all of the comedic dancing that ended up on screen, Klein assured us that there's plenty more that hit the cutting room floor. He's hopeful that the DVD / Blu-Ray releases of "American Reunion" will allow more of the footage to see the light of day. "Hopefully there will be some of the outtakes on the DVD, because it was really quite a day putting that together. We had a good time."

"American Reunion" is in theaters today.

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