Taking a movie hit from former boxing champ Mike Tyson was like playing Russian roulette for funnyman Zach Galifianakis - because he knew that any stray punch could have killed him.

Tyson knocks out the actor's character Alan Garner in new comedy The Hangover - and the odd couple needed 30 takes to get the scene just right. Galifianakis admits it took all his courage to stand there as Tyson wound up to strike.

He says, "The director (Todd Phillips) is telling Tyson how to fight to camera and then we did about 30 takes for that fight scene and if he connected I would've died."

However, the stand-up comic admits he bonded with Tyson during the film - and believes Iron Mike has a career as a comedian in him.

He adds, "He was asking me a lot of questions about comedy because I'm a stand-up comedian and that's my background. He's a big stand-up fan. While Todd was giving him on-camera fight tips, Mike turns to me and goes, 'Oh great, I'm being told how to fight from the captain of the Jewish debating team!'"

"He has this kind of delivery I'd never heard before. It was like a Don Rickles line; it was so funny to me."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)