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Adam Levine says he didn't take acting lessons before playing a singer in 'Begin Again'

"I just thought that I would pretend I knew what I was doing and hope and pray that it worked because these people are all very, very talented," Levine says of his co-stars Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo and James Corden.

By Karen Butler
Adam Levine and John Carney arrive on the red carpet at the 'Begin Again' Closing Night Premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC in New York City on April 26, 2014. UPI/Dennis Van Tine
Adam Levine and John Carney arrive on the red carpet at the 'Begin Again' Closing Night Premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC in New York City on April 26, 2014. UPI/Dennis Van Tine | License Photo

NEW YORK , June 26 (UPI) -- Maroon 5 front-man Adam Levine says he didn't take acting lessons before playing a musician on the brink of stardom in the new film, Begin Again.

"I tried to take one [class.] It didn't go well. It was bizarre. I didn't like it. I didn't like what I was being told because it wasn't making me happy, but that's a whole other conversation I don't want to have," the Grammy Award-winner said at a press conference in New York Thursday. "So, I just thought that I would pretend I knew what I was doing and hope and pray that it worked because these people are all very, very talented. Mark [Ruffalo] is shaking his head because he is angry with me."

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"It's so easy for some people," quipped Ruffalo, who was sitting beside Levine.

"It's really not, actually," Levine insisted. Gesturing to his nearby co-star, Keira Knightley, he added: "She made me look good is the answer. But no lessons, actually."

In the movie, Levine's recording-artist character, Dave, dumps his girlfriend and songwriting partner, Knightley's Gretta, as soon as he becomes successful. Broken-hearted and ready to leave New York for her London home, Gretta is urged by her friend Steve, played by James Corden, to perform at an open-microphone night where she catches the eye of Ruffalo's Dan, a down-on-his-luck, record-company executive, who convinces Gretta to take a chance and make an album with him.

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Written and directed by Once filmmaker John Carney, the film is to open in limited release Friday, then will expand to theaters nationwide July 2.

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