Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has spent months trying to get Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song out of his head after performing it with her for his new movie The Night Before.

In the film, the Inception star plays a 30-something guy trying to rekindle a lost Christmas tradition with two old pals one last time, and one scene required him to sing along with Miley.

But now her 2014 hit is stuck in his head.

"It was pretty fun," he explains to chat show host Jimmy Kimmel. "All you have to do is hear that song once and it's very familiar for the rest of your life... We sang it all day long.

"It doesn't go away. I'd be in the shower, I'd be walking down the street, I'd be eating a bowl of cereal..."

The actor, who, like Miley is a former child star, insists she was a joy to work with.

"I found that she was completely down to earth and professional and did a great job," he says. "Maybe that's different than sort of her image that she plays when she goes on TV, but I found that really comforting. I was like, 'That's good, I'm glad you're doing so well'."