Exclusive Interview: Tyrese Talks Transformers

Tyrese Gibson has a tattoo of an Autobot on his arm, and Michael Bay doesn't like it. Presumably Bay isn't pissed that one of the stars of the biggest movie of his career is so dedicated; as Tyrese puts it, Michael was upset because, as the tattoo got bigger and changed, it was a pain in the ass for continuity.

But of course, the continuity of Tyrese's arm wasn't nearly the biggest challenge of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as he well knows. As he puts it, this is just the ideal platform for him and the rest of the cast to be seen by the world. "If they're going to see any of us on any stage, this is the one we all want to be seen on. You pretty much can't do no wrong. When people see this movie, it's going to just blow them away. It's like special effects on crack. "

Doing the global tour for the movie's various international premieres, Tyrese said he's been blown away by the level of fan support. "It's one thing for you to know that a film did big numbers around the world. We did over $700 million the first round. But it's another thing to get there and physically see it." And he says all that fan outreach will affect him going into a potential third movie as well. "If we have the opportunity to do a Transformers 3, we've got to take it even a step further now. My work ethic is oging to be on a whole nuther level. I know that they're waiting around the world, because I've seen it with my own eyes."

I talked to Tyrese on Tuesday, right before midnight screenings for the film began. We talked a lot about his forthcoming comic book Mayhem, which he'll be promoting later this summer at Comic Con in advance of the August 7 release. Check back later this weekend for more on that; for right now, we're talking Transformers. Listen to what he had to say below.

For the rest of our conversation, including Mayhem and Twitter, go here

Katey Rich

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend