Actors Jack Black and Jason Momoa shared how their off-screen connection fueled their onscreen chemistry in A Minecraft Movie.

The two sat down with Blavity/Shadow and Act’s managing editor, Trey Mangum, to chat about collaborating on the film, which brings the iconic game to life on the big screen.

“I’d been a fan of Jason for a while watching his work in films and TV, and I had a feeling like, I think we’re gonna be simpatico,” Black told Shadow and Act. “We have similar energy, we’re adventurers, [we’ve] got a good sense of humor, rock and roll. And I was like, ‘I gotta rock with this guy.’ And this opportunity came up.”

He continued, “It was like it was meant to be, ’cause I was already thinking, ‘God, that would be cool to, to rock with Jason Momoa.’ And [director Jared Hess], my friend from Nacho Libre, said, ‘Hey, we want you to jump in here. And you and Jason have kind of like a rivalry, like you’re both like battling for alpha male supremacy.’ And I thought that sounded really funny. And my boys loved Minecraft, so it was just like, this is happening. It was a no-brainer.”

Why Jason Momoa took on a comedy role

Momoa shared that it was Dune producer Cale Boyter who first suggested the project to him.

“He saw that I had a good sense of humor, and he was like, ‘You need to do comedy,'” Momoa told Shadow and Act. “I’d never done it before. He’s like, ‘I got something for you.’ He is like, ‘You play Minecraft?’ I was like, ‘No.’ And he explained it to me. He told me the importance of it and the creativity, and I resonated with a lot of things that…I try to teach my children. And I was like, ‘All right, this is interesting.'”

What made Jack Black essential to the Minecraft cast?

“Cut to Jared Hess [having] amazing world-building. I love his movies. Nacho Libre, and, you know, um, and Napoleon Dynamite. And I was like, ‘I’d love to work with him,” Momoa said.

“I would love for Jack Black to do it. Jack was almost unavailable. We waited a little bit and we finally got Jack, but I wasn’t gonna do it without him. I’m just a huge fan and I knew…we would hit it off. And he’s everything and more so. And now after seeing the movie, it couldn’t have been any other way.”

Check out the full interviews with Black, Momoa, Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen, above. A Minecraft Movie, also starring Danielle Books, is now playing in theaters.

A Minecraft Movie

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