Iron Man 3 director Shane Black initially pursued an acting career before he became a renowned screenwriter and director in Hollywood, just like Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. Before he directed the fourth movie in The Predator series, little did fans know that he had an acting role in the first movie alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was during this time that he sold the script for the classic buddy cop movie Lethal Weapon.
It took little time for Black to get the hint from his acting and screenwriting gigs that he was not suited for the former career. Black doubled down on his screenwriting works and became one of the highest-paid screenwriters at the time.
Iron Man Director Shane Black Believed Himself To Be An Actor Before Finding His True Calling
Shane Black‘s Hollywood journey can be compared to that of Yellowstone‘s Taylor Sheridan. Both began their careers with acting gigs and went on to become renowned screenwriters before helming projects of their own. However, unlike Sheridan, Black didn’t have any major roles in films, and many of the roles went uncredited. Black revealed that his first small credited role in Predator (1987) gave him an idea about the fate of his acting career.
During a 2018 interview with The Independent, Black opened up about his acting career and the point where he decided that screenwriting was his true calling. He revealed that he believed himself to be an “OK actor” while working on Predator in Mexico. However, at the time, he had sold the script for Lethal Weapon to Richard Donner and was doing some rewrite works for him.
At the same time, he also had another movie, The Monster Squad, coming out where he had written the script. He had three projects at the time, out of which two were major screenwriting projects, while one was a marginal acting gig. Black revealed that he got his hint at this point. The Nice Guys director shared with The Independent:
I honestly knew I was an OK actor, not necessarily a great actor. When I was on the set of Predator in Puerta Vallarta [in Mexico], I had just sold the script for Lethal Weapon and was doing a rewrite for [director] Richard Donner.
Then there was Monster Squad coming out at the same time. So there were three projects, all at once, swirling as I sat there in Mexico. Two of them involved me as a writer, and only one marginally as an actor. I got the hint at that point.
Black’s credited roles included the small ones in Predator, Dead Heat, RoboCop 3, and As Good as It Gets. However, his screenwriting career took off with huge paydays for The Last Boy Scout, starring Bruce Willis ($1.75 million), Last Action Hero starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Samuel L. Jackson ($4 million).
However, he told The Independent that he struggled in the industry after his costly script for The Long Kiss Goodnight ended up as a box-office disappointment. His next major high point was the 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which he wrote and directed for the first time. He has since directed Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys, and The Predator. His next film, Play Dirty, is being produced by Team Downey and stars Mark Wahlberg (via Variety).
Taylor Sheridan Had Better Acting Success Than Shane Black Before Screenwriting Career
Taylor Sheridan worked in the industry for nearly 16 years as an actor before stepping into the shoes of a director. He wrote the scripts for Sicario and Hell or High Water before directing his breakthrough film, Wind River. He later became one of the top creators of television, with Yellowstone, its spinoffs, and other TV series.
Sheridan’s acting roles included several one-off roles in TV series for years. He landed the role of Danny Boyd for five episodes of Veronica Mars. His major TV acting role came in Sons of Anarchy as David Hale. He also played the role of Travis Wheatley in 9 episodes of Yellowstone, proving that he’s not done with his acting roles yet, unlike Shane Black.
Black’s acting role in Predator is now available for streaming on Hulu. His directorial venture, The Predator, is now available on FX Now.
