Lonely Boy dancer becomes a viral video star (+video)

Derrick Tuggle dances in his star performance on Lonely Boy. Photo / YouTube

The star of the Black Keys video hit Lonely Boy says he is enjoying his new-found fame after struggling to launch an acting career for more than 10 years.

Derrick Tuggle is the star of the Ohio band's new video, which has become a viral hit with more than two million views since hitting YouTube on October 25.

The clip is three minutes of Tuggle dancing outside a hotel room while miming along to Lonely Boy, the first single from The Black Keys' album El Camino, due out in December. The clip was recorded in one take.

In an interview with Ellen Degeneres, Tuggle said he was supposed to be one of six dancers in the video, but the band liked his unique moves so much they told everyone else to leave.

"It was supposed to be me and six other people, and we were all supposed to dance and lip sync to the song," he said.

"The director and the Black Keys decided, I'm the star of this video."

He told MTV.com his dancing was a "spur of the moment thing".

"I took some moves from everybody: John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, the Carlton Banks dance from The Fresh Prince and a little bit of Michael Jackson, so it was a smorgasbord of everybody in there."

Tuggle also told Ellen the video was his big break after moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting 10 years ago.

"It's been 10-plus years I've been here. I came out here with a dream in my hand ...

"If you've got a dream you've gotta pursue it, you've gotta go for it."

Check out Ellen's interview with Tuggle:

- Herald online