Nacho Libre and Jared Hess: “[Hess is a] great director. I loved Napoleon Dynamite and I wanted me some of that Dynamite action, some of that sweet, nappy D. Good stuff. So me and my partner Mike White, we’ve got a movie company now called Black and White. We called him up and said, ‘Hey, let’s party.’ And he said, ‘It’s a coincidence. I wanted to party with you guys because I liked School of Rock.’ We hung out and tried to think of something to do. He was like, ‘You know, I’ve always been really obsessed with Mexican wrestling, with Lucha Libre. Would you want to be in a movie where you were a Mexican wrestler?’ I was like, ‘Well, if you’re at the helm, my friend, I will go with you.’”
Black continued, “He's definitely drawn to the peculiar. He's got a very quirky, strange sense of humor that is unique. That's what he brings to the table, something fresh, which is so refreshing when everything is so cookie-cutter boring now, you know?”
Sticking to the Script: There wasn’t a lot of improvisation involved with Nacho Libre, according to Black. “Little nuggets fly in and out here or there. I can’t really remember if I had any good improv’s or not, but it was a fun, collaborative feeling on the set. If I thought of something funny, Jared was always into trying it so that was cool.”
Jack Black’s Wrestling Opponents in Nacho Libre: “I had a good experience with Satan’s Cavemen - the wrestlers who came up to my navel. They were really tremendous athletes, too. They kicked my a** but good. They flung me around like a rag doll and they punctured my privates, but for the good of the film. And then at the end of the day, gave them a low five and said, ‘Let’s rock it. Later.’
Those dudes were cool, actually. One of them was probably the best wrestler of all the wrestlers. He had a really busy schedule. I think he was…I don’t think he liked me. There was a weird thing there. We were rehearsing and he didn’t want to be there. He’d be like, ‘Ahh, man, I’d rather be in Mexico City doing my next wrestling match.’ He was like the Michael Jordan of the little people’s wrestling association.”
Black confessed he was a little worried going into the project, knowing that he’d be working with real wrestlers. “It turned out they're mostly sweethearts,” said Black. “I was worried going into it like, 'Oh, man. I'm gonna be wrestling like real luchadors who have not acted in movies before. They're just gonna be like treating me like one of the wrestlers. They're gonna break my neck, because I'm a sweet, delicate Hollywood comedian. I can't deal with this real athleticism.' But it turned out that I was kick-a** and there was nothing to worry about.”
Jack Black on His Onscreen Partner – Hector Jimenez: “He's worked in Mexico. I don't think he's a big star, but he was a great find for us. When were auditioning people in Mexico, he just jumped off the screen. He had a real natural hilarious way about speaking and he was just seemed like a really obvious choice. I had a great time working with him.”
Kids Love Jack Black: “They were really funny. We had great kids. I always like working with the kids. I’ve had good experiences. I’m kind of the Pied Piper of the children. They all want to know what Jack’s doing. I wasn’t sure if my pipe - my pied pipe - worked south of the border, that maybe it only works on American kids. No. It works in Mexico, too. They come following me around all through the land.”
Those Skintight Tights: Black once said he’d rather be naked than wear the tights. He’s now ready to retract that particular statement. “I think that was wrong. I was wrong when I said that before. I’d like to call this press conference to print a retraction. I would definitely rather wear the tights than be naked because they cover my penis. The end.”
