Entertainment

Derek Hough missed on "Dancing with the Stars"

By CBSNews.com CBSNews.com

March 22, 2011 / 10:05 AM EDT / CBS News

Dancer Derek Hough at the Bulgari event honoring Simon Fuller and Paul Haggis on Jan. 13, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Bvlgari

(CBS) - "Dancing with the Stars" pro Derek Hough was missing the ballroom action on last night's season 12 premiere.

For those out of the loop, the three-time Mirror Ball champ is sitting this season out to prepare for his feature film debut.

Pictures: Derek Hough
Pictures: "Dancing with the Stars" season 12
Read more: "DWTS" season 12 premiere

Hough, 25, is set to play the lead role in the upcoming dance flick "Cobu 3D." He will portray a New Orleans dancer who moves to New York and falls for an Asian drummer (played by South Korean pop star BoA) from a rival dance group.

Hough, who will soon begin filming in New York and Toronto, says it feels odd being an outsider.

"It's really weird to be on the outside looking in" he told In Touch Weekly. "When it starts, it usually ends up being fantastic, so you never know how the cast is going to be, even if you don't know who they are."