The moment Jack Black knew he’d made it as an actor: “You’re a star now”
Every actor is on the hunt for a role that becomes known as their star-maker, but even though Jack Black shot to prominence at the turn of the millennium, he was already a decade and a half into his career by the time he made it.
The exuberant icon’s first credited roles came in episodes of Lee Majors’ The Fall Guy and the sitcom sequel series The New Leave It to Beaver in 1984 and 1985, respectively. However, he didn’t make his feature debut until 1992 when he landed a part in Tim Robbins’ directorial debut Bob Roberts.
Black was at the bottom of the ladder and left with no other option but to start clawing his way up. Bit-parts and supporting roles in a number of productions, including Sylvester Stallone’s Demolition Man, Kevin Costner’s Waterworld, Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, and Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State followed until the son of two rocket scientists finally landed the big one.
Ironically, it almost didn’t happen after Black initially passed on the idea of playing Barry Judd in Stephen Frears’ High Fidelity, with the filmmaker’s insistence paying huge dividends. Frears referred to the actor as “a bolter” who’d flirted with the project twice before finally committing, and it’s fascinating to think how his career could have gone if he’d stuck to his guns.
Shortly after High Fidelity, Black was cast as the lead in the Farrelly brothers’ comedy Shallow Hal. Long-time friend Mike White wrote a part specifically for him in Orange County, and the scribe did the exact same again when School of Rock was penned as a vehicle for him to star in.
Hollywood history is littered with twists of fate, and Black finally relenting and agreeing to star in Frears’ High Fidelity ended up opening doors that had previously been locked shut. “The truth is, once High Fidelity came out in theatres, I didn’t even need headshots anymore,” he admitted to Rolling Stone.
“That’s when I knew I made it. I was like, ‘Should I get more headshots?’. And my agent just laughed,” he explained. “‘You don’t need headshots, you idiot. You’re a star now.'” A star he was, and a star he remains to this day, with Black one of the most universally popular and widely beloved figures in the entire industry.
From a recognisable face to a non-auditioning celebrity in an instant, High Fidelity was a watershed moment in Black’s professional life. He’d been plugging away for years, waiting for his opportunity, and when it did eventually come around, his first instinct was to run a mile. Fortunately, these things have a habit of working out very well in the long run, with Black now in a position almost a quarter of a century later where auditions are a thing he almost never has to concern himself with.
