The movie that left Jack Black at a career crossroads: “I was hesitant to fuck with that”

Hollywood is the ultimate dream for many, offering up a world where you can work with cinematic icons, attend award shows, and potentially even win prestigious prizes. Yet, when Jack Black found himself in the shallow end, just a few steps away from hitting the big time in the industry, he realised he was hesitant to take the plunge. 

The film industry is certainly not an easy one to get into, and for Black, it helped that he had befriended Tim Robbins in college, who soon went on to find fame. As a result, Robbins cast Black – who had acted while at university and had landed a few minor television roles in the past – in the film Bob Roberts, marking his first entry into the world of cinema.

Throughout the 1990s, Black appeared in various movies that would become pretty successful, such as Demolition Man, Mars Attacks!, and Dead Man Walking, although his roles were all rather small. Meanwhile, he devoted plenty of time to his band, Tenacious D, the comedy rock outfit he formed with his friend Kyle Gass in 1994. 

The band were quickly becoming successful, opening for Tool in 1995 and playing packed-out shows. After building connections with other established musicians, Black was ready to make being in a band his full-time job. In 1997, the band also scored a HBO series that saw Black and Gass play fictionalised versions of themselves, which the pair co-created with David Cross and Bob Odenkirk.

So, with the success of Tenacious D teasing a whole career of playing shows and writing music with his best friend, Black was stuck at a crossroads when he was offered a prominent supporting role in Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity, an adaptation of Nick Hornby’s book of the same name. Should he try to balance music and acting? Or just stick to one endeavour?

Black revealed his dilemma in an interview with Consequence, explaining, “I was just worried that, at the time, Tenacious D had a full head of steam, and we were getting great crowds and were playing to big houses. And I had, in my mind, a legitimate rock and roll career, separate from film and television, that I wanted to protect.” He added, “And to do a movie about music, playing sort of a music critic and talking about some of my heroes like Kurt Cobain… just all those elements made me nervous about messing with this thing that was my own little crown jewel of my life and career up to that moment. I was hesitant to fuck with that.” 

Luckily, Black’s decision to take on the role of Barry, a snobbish record store worker, worked in his favour, and he was met with significant praise. It allowed him to break through into Hollywood, and he soon went on to land a leading role in another music-themed movie, School of Rock. The actor also realised that he could continue his music career at the same time, releasing the first self-titled Tenacious D album in 2001, with their most recent record, Post-Apocalypto, coming in 2018.