Jack Black has recently opened up about a decision in his career that he now regrets.
The 56-year-old actor, known for his comedic brilliance, admitted there’s a specific film role he now wishes he hadn’t passed on.
‘I was offered, and I do regret it, saying no… I was offered Syndrome in that fantastic movie The Incredibles — one of my favorites of all time, by the way,’ he told Capital FM hosts in late December.
The role eventually went to Jason Lee.
Initially, Black described the question of passing on a role as a ‘tricky’ one to answer, acknowledging it might make the actor who landed the part feel like a ‘second choice’ or ‘sloppy seconds.’
Nonetheless, with a touch of humor, he chose to answer, telling the hosts, ‘I don’t care.’
Jack Black recently revealed there’s one particular movie role he wishes he hadn’t turned down; pictured December 19
The actor said he was offered the role of Syndrome in The Incredibles, which went to Jason Lee, after he passed on it
In the 2004 family movie, the character Syndrome is portrayed as an overly enthusiastic fan of the protagonist, Mr. Incredible.
He becomes a villain, with a mission to steal the powers of the noble superheroes.
Sarah Vowell, Holly Hunter, Spencer Fox, Elizabeth Peña, and Samuel L. Jackson make up the star-studded voice cast.
Black explained last month, ‘I said no because I was like, “Uhhh, [director] Brad Bird? Never heard of him!”‘
He took issue with Syndrome’s ‘one-dimensionality.’
‘This character that you’re offering me is like a villain, but he’s kinda one-dimensional. I’m interested but I’d like to see a rewrite,’ Black recalled telling Bird.
He asked the filmmaker to ‘add some dimensions’ to Syndrome, to which Black said Bird replied, ‘Yeah, you’re done. Get out of here.’
The movie went on to become a commercial and critical success, earning over $600 million from its theatrical release.
A sequel, Incredibles 2, followed in 2018 and a third installment is in development.
Black was the star of 2003’s School of Rock
Black pictured in New York City on December 16
On Christmas Day his latest film, Anaconda, hit theaters; pictured with Paul Rudd (R)
Looking back on what he took from the experience, the longtime comedian shared, ‘I learned a valuable lesson because when that movie came out, it was one of the best movies ever made. I was like, “Why was I being so difficult?!”‘
His career did not suffer from the blunder, however.
Black was the star of 2003’s School of Rock and also put his mark on 2004’s Shark Tale, 2005’s King Kong, plus Nacho Libre and The Holiday, which came out in 2006.
In 2008 he starred in Kung Fu Panda, and years later he brought the role of Bowser to life in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came out in 2023.
He’ll return to the role for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, due out in April.
On Christmas Day his latest film, Anaconda, hit theaters.
His co-star Paul Rudd, 56, told People about their remake of the 1997 movie of the same name: ‘Every once in a while something will happen where I’m afforded the opportunity to get to work with a hero of mine…’
‘It happened on this one in the form of this old hunk of love,’ he said in reference to Black.
