Actor Lucas Black starred as a young man in 1996’s Slingblade, but he didn’t hit the tabloid headlines like other child stars.
It’s no coincidence.
Black says he grew up in a “good Christian home,” and his parents guided him through the tumultuous life of young stardom.
“When I was a kid, I was still disciplined. I was told ‘no’ to some things I wanted. I was brought up right.
Black is now making a film to help other fathers make similar choices.
The Alabama native appears in “Legacy Peak,” a stepfather-to-be story that tries to bond with his girlfriend’s children. It’s not easy. Teenagers can be challenging for beginners. After the plane crashes, the trio find themselves alone in the woods. Black’s father figure must do everything he can to protect them.
Black is happy to be in a movie that honors fatherhood.
“Legacy Peak,” he says. [men] Sitting with my family and watching, I can feel like, ‘Oh, finally we can shine a good light on us and appeal to our manly qualities.
The film “shows the importance of earthly fathers,” he said, adding that it’s a welcome change to the status quo.
“It’s the opposite of the message you hear today, especially in entertainment,” he says.
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Black is just heating up the topic. It’s clearly been on his mind for some time.
“I realized there was an attack on the nuclear family, an attack on men in our culture,” says Black, who got his first film role at age 11.
Black’s character struggles with his own family ties, which he thinks makes the film’s theme all the more important.
And if Hollywood doesn’t make movies on these themes, others will. Pureflix produced ‘Legacy Peak’, which is part of Christian his platform’s original film lineup.
“We need to have strategies and plans to counter negative messages about fathers and men,” he says. If so, that’s fine.
Black had a strong family raising him during his early Hollywood days. Now he has another circle that shapes his journey. The actor says he relies on men in his church group to hold him accountable for his professional choices.
“I didn’t have it early in my career. It was a struggle. Now, it’s a huge blessing,” he says.
Black’s ‘Sling Blade’ has become iconic over time, but it’s not the only project to shake up culture. His turn as Sean Bothwell in ‘Tokyo Drift’ gave that franchise depth and prepared to close out with a double sequel.
The actor, who has returned to the series for the seventh and ninth installments, isn’t shocked by its enduring success.
“The story is really focused on family…it speaks to us,” he says. Although they are not related by blood, they treat each other like they are part of the same family.
“We want people to love us. We want to feel needed,” says Black.
Black wouldn’t mind another “Furious” assignment before the franchise ends, but that’s not in the cards at this point.
“I haven’t gotten a call… whatever way they decide, I’m fine. If they want me, I read the script,” he says.