In an interview with PEOPLE, the longtime friends revealed that being far from their families during months of filming in Australia was the hardest part of the experience.
For Paul Rudd, who shares two children with his wife Julie Yaeger, the distance was easier to handle because of the people he was working with.
“We were away from our families for months on end,” Rudd said. “But what a treat it is to get to hang and work with people that you really care about and have fun with.”
He added that as he’s gotten older and built a family, long stretches away from home feel more difficult than they once did.
Jack Black echoed those feelings, saying that time away from family is the hardest sacrifice of the job.
“If I could freeze time, I would,” Black said. “So I wouldn’t miss any of my family time.” Still, he acknowledged that separation comes with the territory. “This is the job,” he explained. “Lots of families deal with this kind of separation, and it sucks — but it’s also a great opportunity.”
Black, who shares two sons with his wife Tanya Haden, said he sometimes brings his kids along when work takes him overseas, turning filming trips into mini family adventures.
“It’s fun to bring them out wherever I am — Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii,” he said. “But if they’re in school, they’ve got responsibilities. They can’t be with me the whole time.”
The new Anaconda stars Rudd and Black alongside Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton as a group of amateur filmmakers who travel deep into the Amazon jungle to reboot the infamous 1997 creature movie.
Black says the story hit close to home.
“In a way, we’re playing ourselves,” he explained. “It’s about friends going out to make their dreams come true. That’s how I feel every time I go out to make a movie.”
Directed by Tom Gormican, the new Anaconda brings back the terrifying giant snake made famous in the original film starring Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez — but with a major twist.
This time, the movie leans heavily into comedy.
“I love horror films, and I love comedies,” Black said. “To find a way to mix those two together — like peanut butter and jelly — that’s something special. I was really thrilled to do something original like that.”
Anaconda slithers into theaters on Dec. 25.
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