Jack Black reflected on how a school therapist played a pivotal role in helping him tackle his teenage drug issues.
In a recent episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Black recounted his encounters with psychedelic substances and cocaine during his adolescence, sharing that he started to “dabble with the devil’s dandruff” while still in middle school.
“At 13, after my bar mitzvah, I felt like a man, ready to explore [drugs],” he told Shepard. “I was also diving into heavy metal music. I don’t want to credit heavy metal for my dark trajectory, but it certainly felt like a rite of passage in a Beavis and Butthead fashion.”
He described feeling as if “this is what it means to be a man,” emphasizing the importance of “venturing into the dark side to demonstrate survival,” explaining that “the more perilous” an endeavor was “the more enticing” it appeared to him.
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Black remembered using drugs in middle school. (Adrian Edwards/GC Images)
The “Kung Fu Panda” star recounted trying acid for the first time in his early teens when an older friend he admired introduced it to him. He transitioned from Hermosa, where he felt out of place, to Culver City, where he discovered bands like Black Sabbath and felt he had found his tribe.
“I looked up to him like a big brother, or even as a father figure, despite having a great dad. I wanted the ‘dark dad,’ the one who would lead me to the dark side. This guy filled that role,” he shared. “We did acid, and I remember laughing harder than I ever had and feeling whole for the first time, like the vast, mysterious universe, which I’d struggled to comprehend, suddenly made sense.”
“I was just getting into heavy metal music, and I don’t want to blame heavy metal music for my dark path, but it was definitely the rite of passage in a Beavis and Butthead way.”
He reminisced about “having a rather odd spiritual experience” with the psychedelic drugs, noting it was enjoyable until it became overwhelming. Speaking with Shepard, he described “the darkest moment of my life” when the effects wouldn’t subside and “it wouldn’t stop.”
Black began experimenting with acid after an older friend offered it to him. (Don Arnold/WireImage)
“It became so severe that I felt trapped in a chaotic mental prison, where all I could visualize were chess pieces stretching into infinity, playing a game with myself,” he explained. “The terror of being forever locked in that state was overwhelming; the initial euphoria was overshadowed. Thankfully, I got through the night; I doubt I slept a wink.”
His journey into psychedelics eventually led him to try cocaine for the first time, with Black stating he was “ready to join in on whatever his heavy metal-loving friends were trying.”
He described the “rush” he experienced, akin to his first acid trip, explaining it felt like “a doorway [being] opened in your brain” that made everything seem exciting and brilliant, allowing him to talk endlessly. Looking back, he feels relieved there were no cameras documenting his high times, as it is “embarrassing in retrospect.”
Black found his path straightened after his parents enrolled him in a school for at-risk youth. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for The Skatepark Project)
“It gives you a fleeting energy that allows you to dig deeper with others than you typically would,” he shared. “Perhaps that’s the reason Freud reportedly employed it in sessions, to delve further into one’s self and the nuances of their personality.”
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Due to his drug use and tensions within his friend group over a romantic interest which often resulted in him being beaten, his parents decided it was best to move him to a school designed for at-risk children.
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Jack Black credited theater with helping him overcome his challenges. (Gabe Ginsberg/WireImage)
It was at this school where Black discovered his passion for theater and began exploring various methods to cope with his issues.
“There was a theater instructor named Deb Devine who I connected with; she taught us improvisation techniques… and encouraged storytelling, which felt therapeutic,” he remembered. “You could confront some of your demons by taking on roles and spontaneously interacting with others in the scenes. It was incredible.”
Later, he found himself in the therapy office at the school. Although he didn’t anticipate it, he confessed to Shepard, “It took me just a minute to start unloading my burdens,” expressing regret about his drug use and the guilt stemming from betraying his mother’s unconditional love when he had stolen money for drugs. He admitted, “I broke down completely.”
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Black has appeared in numerous successful films and is half of the rock duo Tenacious D. (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
His theater instructor then recommended he transfer to Crossroads, a private school in Santa Monica renowned for its theater program, which he acknowledges as the beginning of his transformative journey. Later, he attended UCLA for theater but dropped out to fully immerse himself in acting after gaining a spot in the Actor’s Gang Theater Company.
Since then, he has starred in a plethora of successful films, including “The Holiday,” “Nacho Libre,” all four “Kung Fu Panda” films, “School of Rock,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and more. He is also one half of the celebrated rock duo Tenacious D. Regardless of his achievements in various sectors, theater remains his true sanctuary.
Jack Black believes theater “will always be his main pursuit.” (Getty Images)
“I had visions about being in the theater, feeling superhuman flying like a superhero, only to lose that ability as soon as I stepped outside,” he recounted regarding his experiences at Crossroads. “It was a profound dream symbolizing the creative power and the unmatched world theater provides me. That realm will always hold a special place in my heart.”
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