You probably know Jack Black as the high-energy, guitar-shredding force of nature from School of Rock or the voice of a dragon-fighting panda. He’s a lead. He’s a superstar. But if you rewind the clock to 1998, you’ll find him in a very different spot. He was part of an ensemble in a high-tech conspiracy thriller. Specifically, Enemy of the State Jack Black is a real thing that exists, even if it feels weird to think about now. He wasn't the guy jumping off buildings or running from satellites. He was the guy behind the monitors.
It’s honestly kind of a trip to go back and watch Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State today. You’ve got Will Smith at the height of his "cool guy" era and Gene Hackman doing his best "grumpy surveillance expert" routine. And then, tucked away in the surveillance van with Seth Green and Jamie Kennedy, there’s Jack Black. He plays Fiedler.
He’s one of the tech nerds working for the NSA.
The weirdly grounded role of Fiedler
In the late 90s, Jack Black was basically the king of the "supporting tech guy" or "quirky best friend" roles. Think about The Jackal or High Fidelity. In Enemy of the State, his character, Fiedler, is part of the team led by the villainous Thomas Reynolds (played by Jon Voight). His job is simple: use every piece of illegal surveillance tech available to ruin Will Smith’s life.
He's surprisingly subdued here. If you're expecting the eyebrow-wiggling, scat-singing version of Jack Black, you’re going to be disappointed. He plays it straight. Well, straight for him. There’s still that flickering energy behind his eyes, but he’s mostly there to deliver exposition about GPS tracking and thermal imaging. It’s a testament to his range that he fits into a gritty, paranoid thriller without making it feel like a comedy sketch.
Why this role mattered for his career
Back then, Tenacious D was already a thing in the underground LA scene, but Hollywood didn't quite know what to do with him yet. Getting cast in a massive Jerry Bruckheimer production was a huge deal. It proved he could handle a big-budget set. It showed he could play a character who wasn't just a walking punchline.
Interestingly, the "tech trio" in this movie—Black, Seth Green, and Jamie Kennedy—became a sort of time capsule of 90s alt-comedy actors entering the mainstream. They provided the necessary human element to a movie that was otherwise obsessed with cold, hard technology. Without their banter, the surveillance scenes would have been incredibly dry.
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The "Blink and You'll Miss It" factor
Is Enemy of the State Jack Black a lead role? No. Not even close. But he’s in a significant chunk of the film. Most people forget he’s in it because High Fidelity (2000) completely redefined his public image two years later. Once he became "the guy from the record store," his earlier bit parts in thrillers felt like an alternate timeline.
If you watch the movie now, you'll notice his chemistry with Seth Green is actually pretty great. They play off each other like two guys who have been stuck in a windowless van for eighteen hours straight. It feels authentic. It feels like they actually know how to use those 1998-era computers, even though half the "tech" in that movie is pure science fiction.
Does the tech in the movie actually hold up?
Honestly? Some of it is hilarious now. There’s a scene where they "rotate" a 2D security camera feed to see around a corner. That’s physically impossible. Jack Black’s character is right there, clicking buttons and making the "magic" happen.
But even with the goofy 90s tropes, the movie's core theme—the loss of privacy and the overreach of the surveillance state—is more relevant today than it was in 1998. Seeing a young Jack Black participate in that narrative is a weirdly prophetic experience. He went from tracking people for the NSA (on screen) to being one of the most recognizable faces on the planet.
Life before the "Tenacious" fame
Before the mid-2000s explosion, Black was a working actor. He was taking what he could get. Enemy of the State was a paycheck, sure, but it was also a masterclass in watching legends work. Being on a set with Gene Hackman is no joke.
Hackman was notorious for being intense. Black has mentioned in various interviews over the years that he was somewhat intimidated by the veterans on set. You can see a bit of that nervous energy in his performance. It works for the character. Fiedler is supposed to be a guy who is good at his job but clearly out of his league when things start getting violent.
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- Release Date: November 20, 1998
- Director: Tony Scott
- Jack Black's Role: Fiedler (NSA Technician)
- Key Co-stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Regina King
It's a stacked cast. Even the minor roles are filled with people who would go on to be huge stars or established character actors.
Why we still talk about his minor roles
There is a specific kind of joy in finding a "pre-fame" superstar in an old movie. It’s like a scavenger hunt. When you see Enemy of the State Jack Black, you're seeing an artist in the "grind" phase. He hadn't quite found his "brand" yet, but the talent was obvious.
Most people don't realize he was also in Waterworld or Mars Attacks!. He was everywhere. He was the ultimate "Hey, it's that guy!" actor.
The reason this specific role sticks in the craw of film nerds is because of the contrast. Enemy of the State is so serious. It’s dark. It’s fast-paced. Jack Black is now the embodiment of joy and silliness. Seeing him help a corrupt government agency try to murder Will Smith is just... weird. It’s like finding out your favorite kindergarten teacher used to be a bounty hunter.
The Tony Scott Connection
Tony Scott was known for his hyper-kinetic editing and his ability to spot young talent. He didn't just cast Jack Black for his acting; he cast him for his vibe. Scott liked actors who looked like real people, not just chiseled models. Black’s presence in the NSA van adds a layer of "everyman" grit to the agency. These aren't all super-soldiers; some of them are just guys who like computers and probably eat too much fast food.
Spotting the nuances in his performance
If you re-watch his scenes, pay attention to his hands. He’s always doing something. He’s fiddling with a headset, typing, or adjusting a monitor. He didn't just stand there and wait for his lines. He populated the space.
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That’s the hallmark of a good character actor. Even when you aren't the focus of the shot, you are still "in" the world. In the scene where they are tracking Smith through the lingerie store, Black’s character is focused, almost clinical. There’s no irony. He’s not "being funny." He’s just a guy doing a job.
Misconceptions about his filmography
A lot of people think High Fidelity was his first "real" movie. It wasn't. By the time he worked with John Cusack, he had already been in over a dozen films. Enemy of the State was actually one of his most successful films commercially at that point in his career. It made over $250 million worldwide.
Another misconception is that he and Seth Green were a comedy duo before this. They weren't. They just happened to have similar energy and were both rising stars in the same niche. Their chemistry was so good that people often misremember them having more scenes together in other movies from that era.
How to watch it today
If you want to see Enemy of the State Jack Black in action, the movie is widely available on most streaming platforms (it's a Disney/Touchstone property, so check Disney+ or Hulu depending on your region).
It holds up surprisingly well as a thriller. The pacing is relentless. Even if you’re only watching it to see a young Kung Fu Panda, you’ll probably end up getting sucked into the plot. Just be prepared for a lot of dial-up modem sounds and chunky laptops.
Actionable steps for film buffs
If you’re interested in tracking the evolution of Jack Black’s career, don’t just stick to the hits. Seeing the transition from "supporting guy" to "leading man" is actually really educational for anyone interested in how the film industry works.
- Watch the "Surveillance Suite" scenes: Focus on the background actors in Enemy of the State. You’ll see Black, Green, and Kennedy. It’s a masterclass in ensemble background work.
- Compare with 'The Jackal': Watch Jack Black in The Jackal (1997), where he plays Ian Lamont. It’s another "tech guy" role, but with a much more grisly ending. It shows his ability to play a sympathetic loser.
- Study the 1998-2000 transition: Watch Enemy of the State, then Jesus' Son, then High Fidelity. You can see the exact moment he figured out how to harness his natural charisma and turn it into a lead-actor "persona."
- Look for the "Tony Scott Style": Notice how the director uses Black’s face in close-ups. Scott used long lenses to create a sense of voyeurism, which makes Black’s performance feel even more grounded and less "theatrical" than his later work.
The reality of Enemy of the State Jack Black is that it’s a small but vital piece of a much larger puzzle. It’s a reminder that even the biggest stars started out as the guy in the back of the van, wearing a headset and staring at a flickering green screen. It's not the movie that made him a star, but it's the movie that proved he belonged on the big screen.
He wasn't an enemy of the state for long; he was about to become the state's favorite comedian.