‘Tis the season for endless Christmas movie marathons, but Jack Black might not have The Holiday at the top of his watchlist.
In an interview with Variety at the premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level, the 50-year-old actor was pressed about his favorite holiday film and seemed to genuinely forget that he starred alongside Kate Winslet in one of the most beloved seasonal rom-coms.
“It’s got to be Elf,” Black responded quickly. “Jon Favreau — I don’t know if I’m saying that right — and Will Ferrell just knock it out of the park.”
Jack Black forgot he was in a holiday movie for a second there pic.twitter.com/b6KdWR1hXY
— Variety (@Variety) December 10, 2019
The interviewer was impressed by the Jumanji star’s humility and pointed out that he could have said his own Christmas classic, The Holiday. The heartwarming 2006 movie also stars Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Black, for his part, looked visibly confused for a moment before making the connection.
“Do I have a Christmas movie? Which one is mine?” the High Fidelity star asked in the now-viral red carpet gaffe. “Oh, The Holiday! Obviously, The Holiday. Nancy Meyers: Genius.”
Anyone with more than 150 acting credits to their name could struggle to remember each and every one, but Meyers, 70, specifically wrote the role of Miles in The Holiday for Black.
The legendary director raved to IndieLondon about the “tremendous fun” she had working with the School of Rock alum on the set of the 2006 blockbuster. Meyers revealed that she “fell in love” with the energy Black brought to his role as music-obsessed faux-substitute teacher, Dewey Finn, in the 2003 rock comedy.
“Jack came over to my house, I made him some pasta, we sat in my kitchen and I told him the idea,” Meyers told IndieLondon at the time. “When I asked him if he’d ever be in a movie like this, he replied: ‘Nancy, have you seen my work?’ But I assured him that I had and told him that I thought he was fabulous and that he’d be in a movie with Kate Winslet.”
Black is currently reprising his role as Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon in the sequel to 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson.
