Yahoo Movies How the success of School of Rock horrendously impacted its young stars
"I was looked at like a complete weirdo."
Jack Black's hit comedy School of Rock turned out to be something of a poisoned chalice for its young cast members.
Centring on slacker substitute teacher Dewey Finn (Black) and his plight to turn a group of school kids into burgeoning rockers via the Battle of the Bands competition, the 2003 movie was directed by Richard Linklater and also starred The White Lotus mastermind Mike White in the part of Ned Schneebly.
Read more: Jack Black 'heartbroken' as School of Rock co-star dies at 32
However, the likes of Joey Gaydos Jr., Veronica Afflerbach and Rivkah Reyes have now revealed to Rolling Stone that the success of School of Rock socially hindered them, and even resulted in horrific bullying.
Gaydos Jr., who played lead guitarist Zack 'Zack-Attack' Mooneyham, said: "I was looked at like a complete weirdo [upon returning home to Detroit], and that was hard.
"I remember going to a football game in high school, and some older girl coming up and smacking me in the face because, 'Look at that weird guy from the movie.' People thought I had it all going on. I couldn't believe it."
Meanwhile, Eleni actress Afflerbach was left so scarred by her experience at school that she gave up Hollywood for good.
"My parents wanted to make an investment, so they bought me a house," she shared. "And kids said really horrible things. 'What else did you do to make that much money? Because it's not from just a couple lines in a movie. You're an extra'.
"But I wish that I had given myself a chance to see where else [acting] could have taken me."
Read more: Keanu Reeves: Hollywood stars who have also turned their hands to music
For "about a decade" after School of Rock's release, though, Katie star Reyes had to use "anything" in order to cope with the everyday.
"There was, I would say, about a decade of me being really, really sick and really, really mentally unwell and using anything I could to feel nothing, basically," she candidly noted.
"But the last five years, I've been sober and re-navigating the film industry and comedy and writing and all of it.
"It's just so much easier when there's not all that extra stuff in the way of me, my actual self."
Watch: Jack Black has hinted at a sequel to School of Rock
