Jason Sudeikis gets a hall pass

Funnyman Jason Sudeikis is just coming out of a serious dating daze.

The Saturday Night Live player split last month from girlfriend January Jones, who

plays an icy blond on the award-winning cable series, Mad Men.

No sooner could you say breakup, then rumours circulated he was armin-arm with Ryan

Reynolds' ex, Scarlett Johansson.

Hearsay aside, Sudeikis says he is "concentrating on more immediate matters" during a

recent interview.

For instance, there is his career.

The 35-year-old actor has a fairly active one. Somehow, he finds time between the all

-encompassing SNL gig from September to May to carve out a place in the film world.

"The decision sort of came when people asked if I wanted to be in (films), truth be

told," said a modest Sudeikis.

"Then the decision usually comes from being really fortunate to work with a lot of

great people at SNL and continuing the streak of luck. Hopefully, I'll work with more

fun people in the future."

Currently, Sudeikis can be seen in the Farrelly brothers' R-rated film farce, Hall

Pass, which opened Feb. 25.

In the raunchy comedy, the comic actor plays Fred, who is best friends with Owen

Wilson's Rick. The buddies agree they are bored with the drudgery of married life.

Somehow, they finagle a "hall pass" from their wives (Jenna Fischer plays Rick's

better half and Christina Applegate is Fred's), which gives the lads seven days of

freedom from the ties that bind.

The catch is, the wives also get to exercise their right to party for a week. And they

seem better prepared to seek alternatives than the husbands, who don't realize how out

of it they are.

Throw in some of Peter and Bobby Farrelly-patented gags, gross-outs and pratfalls and

you have a rowdy laugh-fest, not suited for the whole family, as Wilson's Rick and

Sudeikis's Fred get in way over their heads with the opposite sex.

While embracing the Hall Pass role, Sudeikis, once divorced and now newly single,

maintains he doesn't condone the Hall Pass lifestyle in real life.

"I do believe in the idea of love and marriage and monogamy," he said, smiling. "But I

feel like the (trailers for the movie) alone will probably cause some sofa discussions

or pillow talk between couples like, 'Would you do that?' or 'Honey, what would you do

if I gave you that?' "

OK, so in his imaginary fantasy world, who would Sudeikis use his Hall Pass to be with

in an intimate way?

"1967 Raquel Welch," he reported. "Who am I kidding? I'll take 1997 Raquel Welch. Oh,

who am I kidding? I'll take 2007 Raquel Welch, but not today, though," he continued.

"Now, I'll take Helen Mirren."

Next up on the Sudeikis movie agenda is another ensemble project, although a less

vulgar one than a Farrelly brothers production.

It's the Seth Gordon-directed comedy Horrible Bosses, set to hit theatres this summer.

Sudeikis joins some high-profile castmates, including Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx,

Jason Bateman, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Spacey, Charlie Day and Colin Farrell.

That kind of celebrity profile didn't happen over night. Sudeikis worked on the

fringes of the comedy industry for nearly a decade, first performing at clubs in

Kansas City and later with a Second City touring company.

Eventually, he became a founding member of Second City in Las Vegas and studied at

Chicago-based improv theatre groups before getting his big break as an SNL sketch

writer in 2003.

Slowly, he made the transition to on-camera performer and continues to provide the

show with a range of characters, from an impersonation of U.S. vice-president Joe

Biden to the brazen Ed Mahoney.

On TV, he won raves for his recurring character Floyd on Tina Fey's Emmy-winning

sitcom, 30 Rock. He also showed up in the 2008 Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz comedy,

What Happens in Vegas, and The Bounty Hunter, alongside Gerard Butler and Jennifer

Aniston.

Last summer, Sudeikis was featured with Charlie Day in the romantic comedy Going the

Distance, with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long.

Meanwhile, Hall Pass and Horrible Bosses might be his perfect 2011 calling card for a

life after SNL. He's in the sixth year of a seven-year contract on the network sketch

show and he's getting restless.

"It might be time to move on," he predicted.