Eminem has always been hip-hop's resident jokester, but after a years-long absence from the spotlight, he has returned with a bid to bring his boundary-pushing comic sensibility back into the pop-culture scene with force — and gut-busting laughter.

At the MTV Movie Awards in May, during what became the Award Presentation Heard 'Round the World, a half-naked Brüno fell from the rafters and landed head first, butt up in Em's lap. On Friday, the rapper pops up in a cameo in Judd Apatow's flick about stand-up comedians, "Funny People."

And as Apatow told MTV News, the experience of working with Eminem was an unparalleled moment for the director, whose credits include "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up."

"He was a fantastic actor, and the best moments ever in my career were pitching him new jokes to say and making him laugh really hard," he said.

We don't want to give away too much about Em's cameo, so we'll just say that he plays himself during a candid, advice-bestowing dinner with the film's star, Adam Sandler, who portrays an Adam Sandler-like funnyman struggling with illness and the vagaries of success in Hollywood.

Sandler told MTV News that the rapper didn't show up on set with a huge entourage and was "very loose" the entire time.

Apatow seconded that assessment. "He came early and well-prepared," he said. "I think he felt like, 'I'm entering a world of comedy here. I got to be on my game.' He was really funny, willing to say anything. I thought if I pitched him certain jokes, he'd say, 'No, no that's too far.' "

It turned out that the man who has rapped about Vicodin and murder is kind of hard to offend. "Apparently, you can't shock Eminem with anything you have to say," Apatow laughed. "To make him laugh super hard was really, really fun, and he's great in the movie. I'm glad that his scene kills, and so it's really exciting."

Check out everything we've got on "Funny People."

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