Jack Black Was Worried That High Fidelity Would Kill His Music Career
Before Jack Black took the pop culture world by storm with a breakout role in 2000's "High Fidelity," the actor, musician, and comedian had his doubts about the movie. In the latest issue of Total Film magazine, Black reflects back on his decades-long career and admits that he initially passed on the role of music junkie Barry over fears that it might negatively impact his own real-life music career.
"My friend, John Cusack, was like, 'You would be perfect for this role, Barry, in 'High Fidelity,'" Black recalled (Cusack starred in and co-wrote the movie). "I was hesitant because I was like, I don't know if I want to make a movie about rock and roll, and someone who is a critic of rock and roll." Though "High Fidelity" is a music-lovers' classic now, the film (and, later, TV show) based on a Nick Hornby book features some painfully authentic music snobbery, and Barry isn't immune to his coworkers' critical tendencies. "I think it might hurt my rock and roll career," Black recalled thinking before he'd signed on.
At this point, Black was already known in the Los Angeles music scene as one half of the comedy rock duo Tenacious D, alongside Kyle Gass. That band had formed in 1994, and by the time "High Fidelity" came out in 2000, they'd already opened for artists like Beck and Pearl Jam, released 3 seasons of an HBO show co-created by Bob Odenkirk, and been signed by Epic Records, per All Music. The band was clearly on the rise, and Black didn't want to jeopardize that. "At first I passed and my agent said, 'Are you f***ing kidding me? Are you insane?'" Black recalls. "I was like, 'You're right. I'm insane." It's Stephen Frears, for Christ's sake, who was one of my favorite directors."
Barry Jive and the Uptown Five
The wake-up call from Black's agent and the appeal of "Dangerous Liaisons" director Frears apparently snapped Black back to reality, and he ended up accepting what was at that point his biggest film role to date. Black earned praise for the role, including an American Comedy Awards nomination and two MTV Movie Award nods, and the actor was everywhere soon after. His humor and charm are clear throughout the movie, but fans of "High Fidelity" tend to remember Barry for his own musical talent. At the film's end the record shop clerk finally performs with his own band (formerly known as Sonic Death Monkey, renamed Barry Jive and the Uptown Five), and it turns out he actually rocks.
"When it came time to finally sing at the end of the movie, I was like, 'Holy s**t, that's a lot of pressure,'" Black told Total Film. "We did the first take and the vibe in the room was not electric. It wasn't the big grand finale it needed to be."
The musician and actor recalled that Frears then directed the room full of extras and actors to be more "engaged with the performance," a bit of feedback the actor took personally. "I was like, 'Holy s**t, he really was yelling at me.' I took it as my fault they're not enjoying it, because I'm not rocking hard enough,'" Black says. Never one to miss an opportunity to rock out, Black and the band nailed the energetic performance of "Let's Get It On" on the second take: "[Frears] said, 'Action' on take two, and I just uncorked it. And that was the take that they used in the movie."
In the end, Black's fears were unfounded: Tenacious D's popularity continued to grow after "High Fidelity," and in the years since, the band has released four albums, made several appearances in movies and shows, and even won a Grammy.