Jack Black has played and voiced some of the greatest characters in film history.
Although he had roles in Nacho Libre, School of Rock and voiced Po in Kung Fu Panda, the actor shared that there is one role he regrets turning down.
In a December interview Capital FMBlack said he rarely shares the roles he passes on. He called it a “tough question” because he doesn't want the actor who gets the role to think he's a “second choice” or a “sloppy second.”
However, he continued to answer and said that he could be the villain in this “fantasy” animated film by Pixar.
“I was offered—and I regret turning it down—I was offered Syndrome in that fantastic movie, The Incredibles,” he said. “By the way, one of my favorites of all time. And I said no because I was like, “Uh-huh, (director) Brad Bird? I’ve never heard of him!”
He recalled asking for a rewrite of the script to flesh out the character.
“This character you’re pitching me looks like a villain, but he’s kind of one-dimensional,” Jack remembers saying at the time. “I'm interested, but I'd like to see a rewrite. Will you be adding some dimension to this character?” And he was like, “Yeah, we're done.”
For his work on The Incredibles, Bird won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the year. He also directed the sequel, Incredibles 2, as well as Ratatouille, which also won him another Oscar in the same category.
Actor Jason Lee brought to life the Incredibles syndrome, which also featured Craig T. Nelson., Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson and others.
Black, for his part, said he “learned a valuable lesson” because when The Incredibles came out, it was “one of the best movies ever made.”
“And I thought, 'Why was it so difficult with me?' – he added.
