Joseph Gordon-Levitt tackles Janet Jackson on Lip Sync Battle

Joseph Gordon-Levitt nailed an impersonation of Janet Jackson during an appearance on the TV show Lip Sync Battle.

In a festive episode of the series, hosted by LL Cool J and Chrissy Teigen, Joseph battled Anthony Mackie, who he stars alongside in new festive film The Night Before.

Seth Rogen, who also stars in the film, was on-hand to support his co-stars by dressing as Father Christmas and The Elf on the Shelf during the show on Friday (20Nov15).

Anthony faced off against Joseph with an energetic performance of MC Hammer's 1991 hit 2 Legit 2 Quit, while dressed in a black leotard and surrounded by backing dancers.

However, it was Joseph's impressive impersonation of pop icon Janet Jackson that has become a big hit on social media.

Dressed in a black military-style uniform, surrounded by dancers, Joseph sported lip gloss, blusher and a ponytail peeking out of the back of his baseball cap for his performance of Janet's 1989 hit Rhythm Nation.

Anna Kendrick, who previously took part in a Lip Sync Battle against John Krasinski, wrote on Twitter.com, "Oh dear God you better get it baby!" and posted a link to a video of Joseph in action.

The actor replied, "You set the bar, my dear Ms Kendrick. Yours was the one I saw where I was like, okay I better work..." He later tweeted a link to the video on You Tube, and thanked fans for getting Rhythm Nation trending on Twitter.

Joseph recently became a father for the first time, welcoming a son with wife Tasha McCauley in August (15). The pair will celebrate their first wedding anniversary in December (15).

The Night Before was released on 20 November (15), but will be in cinemas across Europe and the rest of the world from 4 December (15).