Jack Harlow talks pivoting to acting and White Men Can't Jump remake: 'I'm going to get it right'
Jack Harlow is jumping from rapping to acting, and his career pivot isn't ending anytime soon.
The "Industry Baby" and "First Class" hip-hop artist is making his feature film debut on the big screen with the upcoming White Men Can't Jump remake(premiering May 19 on Hulu), in which he takes on essentially the role played by Woody Harrelson in the original. But he'll first be seen on the small screen during Super Bowl LVII in a star-studded Doritos commercial alongside Missy Elliott. And Harlow tells EW that while he "didn't necessarily plan on" shifting his focus from music to acting, he's going to see how far he can take his acting career now that it's launching in such a big way.
"It was in the back of my head as a possibility," Harlow says. "People always thought I had some sort of chops for pretending, for better or worse. So I'm going to keep doing this. We'll see what happens."
20th Century Studios Jack Harlow as Jeremy in 'White Men Can't Jump' (2023).
As for what that means for fans of his music? "Hip-hop is a huge priority to me, music is No. 1, but I want to keep seeing what's going on over here," Harlow says. "I'm a curious person and I'm always hungry to get better and learn something. It's been fun because I'm new to this, but I have something I believe in."
With the Doritos Super Bowl commercial and White Men Can't Jump remake coming out within months of each other, Harlow got the validation he needed to continue pursuing acting over his music at the moment. "It's nice to have multiple things going on," he says. "I don't feel rushed to put out my new music. I'm going to get it right. I don't want to say it necessarily gives you breathing room, but to know there's a movie coming out and there's these other things that you're doing, it leaves room for you to work hard and also get things right on the music end. I can come with my new music when I'm ready."
Doritos Jack Harlow stars in Doritos' Super Bowl commercial.
Harlow is excited for his fans to get to see a new side of him with his acting roles, and to see his personality more. "It is very fulfilling to feel like who you are is appreciated and taken in by the world," he says. "I think that's why I've always wanted to be in entertainment, because a lot of people just want to feel seen. They feel like they have something special and they want the world to see it, so this is another formula for that."
Harlow filmed White Men Can't Jump first, and when the Doritos commercial role came along, it was an easy decision for him to say yes. "I've worked with Doritos in the past, and we thought the concept was fresh so we were into it," he says. "When I heard that there was a chance of Missy [being in it too], I really pushed for it to happen because she's a hero of mine."
Bringing the dream of working with Elliott into reality was a true highlight for him. "She's so humble and completely down to earth and chill to talk to, so I enjoyed every second," he says. "I asked a lot of questions and she told me a lot of stories and I left feeling inspired, I can't lie. I was asking her about what [making] those early records were like and she was just telling me how it was all about being organic and just making what she liked and not overthinking, which may sound simple to some people. But for artists, sometimes we need that reminder so that felt really good to hear that you don't have to try to please people with your music, just make what you like."
Check out Harlow's Doritos Super Bowl commercial below:
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