“I rose too fast”: Jack Black explains how he suffered from “celebrity sickness”
Philosophical ruminations aren’t typically associated with the effervescent energy of Jack Black, but he has been known to cast his gaze inward and ruminate on his rise to the status of enduringly beloved and unstoppably wholesome superstar.
His first appearance as an actor came during a 1984 episode of Lee Majors’ The Fall Guy, but it would be almost another decade after that when he made his film debut in Tim Robbins’ maiden directorial effort, Bob Roberts. Even then, it wouldn’t be until the turn of the millennium that Black became a household name.
Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity was the turning point, with the romantic dramedy the catalyst that led the actor and musician onto bigger and better things. The Farrelly brothers’ comedy Shallow Hal cleared $140million at the box office, Orange County was another successful showcase for Black’s persona, he lent his vocal talents to animated smash hit Ice Age, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Actor – Comedy or Musical’ at the Golden Globes for Richard Linklater’s School of Rock.
That all happened within a three-year timeframe, but as his profile continued to rise, Black felt like he was edging ever closer to the perils of being caught up in the cult of celebrity, admitting to James Gill that “when I did High Fidelity things skyrocketed,” leading to a pivotal period in his career.
“I didn’t have to go audition any more, offers just started flying in,” he said. “I rose too fast and got what you would call celebrity sickness, but I got my bearings after a couple of years.” There’s no bulletproof method for navigating through Hollywood, but Black nonetheless shared his own insights into how to deal with the ups and downs of being a public figure.
“You don’t want to focus on what can go wrong, you’ve got to focus on what could go right,” he explained. “A little visualisation of weathering the storm and coming up triumphant on the other side helps. A little meditation. A little deep-knee rock squats. A little stretching, and get a good night’s sleep if you can. Also, just hunker down and do the work.”
It’s been more than 20 years since Black first experienced the symptoms of celebrity sickness, and the good news is that there haven’t been any lingering after-effects following his brief queasiness at suddenly becoming a man in demand.
If anything, he’s probably grown comfortable with being in the position where he’ll rarely have to audition for any role because there isn’t a casting director in the business unaware of what they’d be getting were he to sign on the dotted line and bring his signature style to a film, television, or musical production.
