Feels Like the First Time
Black does a couple of memorable stage dives in the film, but says he’s not likely to try it in a Tenacious D performance. “If I dove into the audience it would be like throwing a bowling ball out there,” he says. “I think I would injure someone — be hard to catch. I’ve always wanted to though. All the greats have taken the plunge, so yeah it was a little bit of dream fulfilment for me. You know my life didn’t flash before my eyes; there were trained professionals out there to catch me – I knew that. But it was based loosely on an actual event. I went to see a reunion in Los Angeles of The Cult and Ian Astbury the lead singer took a dive, it was at the Viper Room, and it was just a bunch of jaded Los Angelenos out there that didn’t catch him. He plummeted into the ground, and that was so hilarious. So that was put into the script.”Black is still working out his place in the movie pantheon. “I’m always flattered if people compare me to John Belushi. He was a definite influence on me. Aside from the fact that we’re both chubby and have powerful eyebrow technique, I guess we also have a similar raunchy energy. But I think the thing that was great about Belushi was just that you loved him, I was not even thinking about how great a performer he was as much as just as wow, I would really like to hang out with that guy. He had a great high hangability quotient, and if I have that that’d be great!”
But he’s taken aback when someone suggests that he’s a sex symbol. “Is that true? Is that real?” he says with honest disbelief. “That’s absurd! I’m well over 13 stone. Truth be told at the moment I’m pushing 15 stone, and if a man at just over 5 foot 6 and 15 stone can be attractive to the opposite sex, I guess I’m a hero. I’m a hero to men!”
REAL MUSICIANS. Black is a firm believer that kids who want to be musicians should be avid students of the arts — all the arts. And he doesn’t have many nice things to say about TV talent shows like Pop Idol or Fame Academy. “That’s like a lottery,” he says. “I think that’s a way to be famous, kind of, but that’s basically just a karaoke contest. None of those people are writings songs, so I don’t care about any of that. I’m not going to buy any of their records. I’ll buy the records of the people who wrote the songs they’re singing! But I don’t think it’s helping further music in any way.”
He clearly enjoyed working with the School of Rock kids, all of whom are talented musicians who really played in the movie’s band. And they were all inspired by Black to stop being so serious about life. Kevin Clark affirms that they were always playing games on the set. “He’s like one of us” he says. “He’s just a kid. And it inspired me that maybe I shouldn’t try to act older or whatever because sometimes, like I’m the oldest and I’d be trying to act older than everyone sometimes. But then Jack, he’s the oldest kid of us, and he’d be acting younger than some of us sometimes. And it influenced me that maybe you don’t have to act your age.”
But did the kids inspire Black in any way? “I despised them, couldn’t wait until the film was over to be rid of them. Brats! No, honestly it was a great experience, because now I’ve made a few films and I’m used to working with actors that have done tons of movies and are really jaded and are like punching the clock and approaching it like any other job. But these guys were really psyched to be there because it’s pretty exciting, the first movie, and it rubbed off on me and made me feel like it was my first movie in a way.”
THE DORCHESTER, LONDON, 9.JAN.04
