Jack Black Injured His Ankle Rehearsing For Conan’s Last Episode | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

all those years of, you know, different. late night shows, you were always one of. my favorite people because you have this. combination of amazing comedy brain, great physicality, and then energy, explosive energy, and you've got all. three. And you would come on, and. anytime you were going to be on the. show, I was, "Well, I got the night off. Jack's coming." Like, you know, it's why. I I you you came in and you did the last. show for me because I was thinking, yeah, who else? This is the guy. This is. the guy that needs to he needs to help.

put a a bolt in the brain of this late. night show I've been doing for 28 years. And Zack Dalifanakis wasn't available, let's be honest. No, no, no. He was hanging around. He was outside the stage door cuz we. shot it in a theater. He was outside and. he kept saying, you know, so I we did a. couple of those uh Hung Hangover movies. I was like, Zack, you know, sometimes people call me Jack Gallatha. Blackus cuz we're so they say I stole. his beard, which is kind of true. Yeah.

But here's what I want to say to you. It. was such an honor that you chose me to. be on your final episode. I almost cried. right now just thinking about it. And I. think back and I think, "God dang it, I. should have done said these other things. that I didn't say on the final episode. like, and I'm glad I I'm here to get a. chance to do it." But the meaningfulness. of when I first came on your show, you. were the first talk show I came on to in. the national spotlight and I was so. nervous and um and I asked you,

"Is it okay if I like do a little skit?". Cuz that's kind of my thing. I don't go. on and just talk about myself and and my. and you were like yes you were so game. and uh you let me come on there and with. Kyle we did a little musical number. about replacing Andy Richtor which was. just a joke I love Andy Richtor you. auditioned uh Andy's a sidekick and you. auditioned to replace him and it was so. fantastic. It was so funny uh and we've.

you did so many great bits. We did one. bit. It comes up all the time. People. talk to me about it, which is funny. because there's there's a lot of stuff. over the years and then there's certain. things that that capture people's. imagination. There was once you and I. decided who's the greater guitar god? And so we start playing guitar opposite. each other and then we're we're standing. in front of the, you know, in the. performance area and the curtain and you. know, you're playing and and then I'm. playing and then you're playing and I'm. playing and then my plane starts to get. off the hook. Amazing. And you're and.

then you get suspicious and you pull the. curtain away and Slash is there. Yeah. And he's making the guitar sounds for me. and it killed so hard. It was such an. amazing. surprise. But uh I remember I I believe that was. your idea you came in with and I was. just like that's a fantastic idea and uh. all we have to do is get slash and then. we did. Turns out he was in the. commissary brothers eating. Maybe Smiley had something to do with.

that idea. I don't know who gets credit. That's not important who gets the. credit, right? It was Tavis Smiley. It was such a good idea that here we are. 10 years later. There's still people. doing that same joke. They got that from. us. Yeah. I just saw it like a week ago. I. was like, "Oh, you got slash hiding. behind the curtain. I I wonder where you. got that idea." But, you know, anyways, the important thing is we create. vibrations. We pick up on vibrations and. we pass them on and we've received them. and then we sue the out of people. That's right. And that was the funniest.

thing when I was on the the farewell. show and I actually injured my ankle. What it actually with the comedy bit was. I was coming out to perform the farewell. song. Yep. And then in the middle of me singing. this farewell song, I get so so. energetic and dancing, I injure myself. Yes. Fake injur yourself. Fake injury myself. And then the medics. come in, the paramedics carry me out and. then I say, "No, he needs me. This is.

too important." And you kick you kick. open the back of the ambulance and come. running back into the theater. Come running. And as we were doing the. pre-tape of me kicking open the doors. and running back in the theater. I. injured my ankle for real. For real. Yes. And of course I come. running out. You're on the ground. It's. my final late night show. And sometimes. I look to a camera that's not there and. do a take. Like it just, you know, you. know that classic something goes crazily. wrong and and the person just shoots the.

camera and looks into it. Where's my. camera right now? Right there. It just. goes really. And I looked at a camera. that wasn't there. And as you're. writhing in pain, I should have been. looking after you. But uh but I just. thought it's my last show. Jack Blacks, we got this great idea and now you're. injured. But uh and I thought, well, this isn't going to happen now. But and. it was it was a real injury. Yes. Snap. crackle pop. I heard it all. And then they you like a hero, you got. taped up. You got booted up. I went to.

the the actual like special ankle. specialist who uh taped me up and put. put me in a cast and said, "Yeah, you're. going to be out of commission for a long. time. You're not going to be getting out. of this cast for we don't know how long. It takes a long time for this kind of. sprain. It wasn't a regular sprain. It. was like where the not the tendons but. the other things. I can't remember what. the things are that were torn. Um uh and.

uh he and I said, "Yeah, but can I sing? Can I?" And he said, "Yeah, of course. you can sing." I was like, "Okay, I'm. going to go on Conan tomorrow then and. and do my bit and it'll be very. dramatic. I'll be a real hero when I. come out there with my cast.". Was he like, "Can I love that guy. I'm taking this cast off. Conan's the. goat. Did he do that at all? Something like that. I think it was. like, "Oh yeah, Conan O'Brien. I know. that. I know him. That'll be great.".

Hey, pretty much the same thing. Yeah, pretty much the same thing. But he did say no dancing and jumping. around, though. Let's just keep it, you. know. But you came on, you did it, you killed. it. It was It meant the world to me. And. what I just realized today, someone. reminded me and now I was like, "Oh my. god." But uh I did a big 10th. anniversary show. So we started in '93. This would have. been 2003. We did a 10th anniversary. show and it was a huge deal and like all. my heroes came out for it. It was great.

We did it uh I think at the uh at the. Beacon Theater and um you did a song. about the story of Conan telling my. story from the beginning in 93 and the. it was oporadic the highs the lows and. I'm sure it's out there and you can. watch it somewhere and it's worth. looking at because it's one of the. greatest things I've ever seen because. you know you would you would you'd go. through the initial beginning and and.

hope and then the hard times and then. everything's really going great and then. but then Andy Richtor left and you got. and it was just I mean I was watching. and I was like why isn't this guy. getting a Tony for this? Okay, we're not. a Broadway show but so many times you. came and and I'm not going to say hit a. home run. It's like it's like the. natural you hit a home run, it hit the. lights, the lights exploded, then it set. off the Oenheimer explosion. Uh, I.

there's nothing I can do to I I can. never thank you for all the nice things. you've done for me. Do you know what? That's a no-brainer, though. I How am I not going to come out. for the 10th anniversary? But in my. mind, before that 10th anniversary, I'm. thinking, "This is going to be a bomb. This is not going to go well. I will be. bad." And I just surrender myself to. that. And I go in with a fight orflight. kind of adrenaline. And uh that's how it. is. Every time I go I go in going, "Oh, This is terrifying." And then I. get out there and it goes, it's not.

always, sometimes it goes great and I. feel like, ah, I've got it. I'll never. forget this feeling. And then, you know, a week later, I have to go do another. thing. I'm terrified again. No, it's the. ups and downs of the. This is something I talk about a lot. because I want people to uh understand. Um, and I get fooled because I do this. about everything. And then uh Sony, you've seen me for years go through it, you know, and Blair, you've seen me go. through it. It's just like just I get.

into I get morose. I really try and. prepare and think. I'm convinced this. then I I panic. There's just a lot of. misery involved. But then. uh if you can catch the wave, right, you. have this great revelation, this nice. moment, and then you're right back. I. mean, it lasts I can't believe it lasts. for like, you know, it's like those. Viagra ads. If it lasts longer than six. hours, you're in trouble. This it just.

doesn't last. It goes. And I am fooled. because I think, okay, I know that. happens to me, but I would I would guess. it would I know I'm wrong, but I would. have said wouldn't happen to Jack Black. Absolutely. Because I don't see you ever failing. I. just don't see it. In fact, I feel uh my. most confident weirdly after a bad. performance or something that I didn't. have fun at and I think in my mind the.

next time I get up in front of a camera. or in on stage I'm going to make up for. that shitty one I just did. I don't know. why that's uh always where I feel most. comfortable in like the the defensive. crouch right after a bad one when it's. like okay this is the redemption. So, I. have that up and down of uh performance. and that goes that goes uh across the. board. But I wanted to say what I forgot. that I should have said on the farewell. episode that you had me come and guest.

on is that the very first time you had. me on 20 years before. uh I had this amazing like uh experience. on on national television with you and. and your embrace of my adventurous. spirit and and your your adventurous. spirit uh was such a great uh uh way to. kick off my journey and then I looked. over at at other comedians and other. performers and actors that had had the.

same experience. Like that's the first. time I saw Amy Polar when she came on. your show as like the little sister Andy. Richtor's little sister with those. braces on. I was like, who the is. that? This is some kind of a crazy. uh performance from someone that's just. getting shot out of a cannon. And I'd. never seen her before. And I know that. you've done that for for tons of of uh. performers and comedians over the over. the decades. And I just thought what a. amazing person you are to be at the.

threshold of the industry in a way for. all these new uh you know young. alternative. That's I mean coming from that's very. sweet. I think I I always think that we. were very lucky in the timing. We were. in the right place and there was all. this young talent coming up and I get. giddy around talented people. We just. had so much fun. It was so much fun.