Jack Black is hosting “Saturday Night Live” for the first time in nearly 20 years on April 5 — and it’s keeping him up at night.
The actor, comedian and musician made a stop in London on Sunday for the premiere of “A Minecraft Movie” before heading into the “SNL” writer’s room this week, telling Variety that it feels “cray cray” to be returning to Studio 8H after two decades. That’s right — the last time Black hosted was on Dec. 17, 2005 to promote Peter Jackson’s “King Kong.”
Asked how he was preparing for the week, Black said: “Just you know, having lots of nightmares and night terrors and also fond memories flooding back. It’s crazy, very exciting.”
He continued that he has no idea the direction his sketches will take, as is customary on the fast-paced show. “You know what they’re thinking about right now? They are just all in a dead coma from last night’s show,” Black said of the “SNL” cast and writers. “Maybe some of them are thinking of some ideas, but I’m really thinking it’s one of those shows they put together in one week, that’s part of the excitement.”
Black said he loves “all those kids” in the current “SNL” cast, adding: “I call them kids because I was on that show before some of them were born — except for Kenan [Thompson], we’re around the same age. That’s about it.”
In addition to his 2005 hosting gig, Black has led “Saturday Night Live” two other times in 2002 and 2003. This time around, Black will be promoting “A Minecraft Movie,” which hits theaters on April 4. Black plays expert crafter Steve in the film, which is directed by his “Nacho Libre” collaborator Jared Hess. The plot follows Steve as he teams up with a band of fellow misfits — including Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and newcomer Sebastian Hansen — when they are suddenly pulled into the video game’s Overworld.
Prior to nabbing the role, Black told Variety that he was familiar with the game. “I did do some Minecraft gaming, yes! I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but yeah, I know my way around a Minecraft universe,” he said.
Black also employs his musical abilities in the film, performing the original song “I Feel Alive,” which he also co-wrote with Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
“I’m very excited about that one,” Black said of the song, which features Dave Grohl on drums. “Cale [Boyter], our producer, was like, ‘We need a big song at the end, something that wraps up the whole movie.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t write a song that wraps up the whole movie.’ I said, ‘Maybe if you could get those guys that wrote “I’m Just Ken,” they could do it. And he said, ‘Done!’ and made it happen.”
Black continued, “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And we started jamming and working together and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is heaven.’”
“A Minecraft Movie” releases in theaters on April 4 via Warner Bros. Pictures.