Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) and Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) behold the wonders of exhibits that have come to life inside the Smithsonian in 'Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian'

The actor was filming a fight scene with the mischievous primates when they gave him several slaps to the face and body.

And Stiller admits he wanted to punch back but was wary of breaking animal rights laws - so took out his frustration on a dummy monkey instead.

He says, "We have two this time. I had to do a slap fight with them. I basically get slapped by both of them, but I am not allowed to slap them back because of animal rights, so I have to slap a dummy or a tennis ball when they're off-screen. It's a weird experience."

Source: WENN