HANK AZARIA has described his run-in with MICHAEL JACKSON as one of the “freakiest moments” of his life - because he couldn’t stop staring at the star’s nose as he recorded his voiceover on THE SIMPSONS.

The late King of Pop appeared in the hit animated series back in 1991, playing a fat mental patient who shares a hospital ward with Simpson patriarch Homer.

And the singer brought his own bizarre twist to the pre-production recording sessions, according to a new book by John Ortved, The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History.

One of the show’s writers, Wallace Wolodarsky, recalls how they were forced to record at Jackson’s home - the first time they had worked outside of their own studio in the history of the show.

He remembers, “It was a crazy environment where we were all served food by Sikhs in white robes and turbans.”

And actor Azaria, who provides voiceovers for several characters, insists he was freaked out after meeting the Thriller hitmaker, because he was so intrigued by the star’s face.

He tells Ortved, “I remember having to make conversation with Michael Jackson. That had to be one of the freakiest moments of my life… he wasn’t quite the figure he’s become today, but still, I remember even then, staring at his nose, and it was all about, ‘Don’t Stare at His Nose.’”

Editor Brian Roberts was also transfixed by the star’s bizarre facial transformation, until Jackson brought in a voice double to perform his own hit, Man In The Mirror.

Roberts quips, “I literally didn’t want to look at him. So I got my head buried in the script, and then at one point in the script he sang, ‘Man in the Mirror,’ and I said, ‘All right. How many times in your life are you sitting next to Michael Jackson and he’s singing “Man in the Mirror?” I just gotta look.’

“So I look over to Michael Jackson, and he wasn’t singing! He had a sing-along guy next to him who was actually singing for him. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘What kinda weird s**t is this?’”

The book hits stores on 13 October (09).