Between working with Ozzy Osbourne and fronting Black Label Society, Zakk Wylde's accomplished a lot in his career. Oh, and he also helped teach Mark Wahlberg about metal.
Wylde acted with Wahlberg in the 2001 film Rock Star, which premiered in theaters 20 years ago today. In the movie, which was loosely based on the story of onetime Judas Priest singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, Wahlberg plays Chris Cole, a super fan of the fictional '80s metal band Steel Dragon. When the group's singer is fired, they stumble upon Cole, who fronts a Steel Dragon tribute band, and recruit him to become their new vocalist.
The cast also featured Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Olyphant and Dominic West, as well as real-life musicians including Wylde, Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson and late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's son, Jason, who all played members of Steel Dragon.
"Everybody that was on that movie, we had a great time," Wylde tells ABC Audio. "I have nothing but great memories doing that thing. And the soundtrack and everything like that was a lot of fun."
As Wylde recalls, Rock Star turned out to be a sort of metal boot camp for Wahlberg, who first gained fame as a member of the early '90s hip-hop group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.
"It was just so funny, 'cause Mark was just, like, 'Zakk...when I grew up with my older brothers, this whole world didn't even exist to me,' 'cause he grew up with all the rap stuff," Wylde shares. "He was just, like, 'Zakk, this is like a whole other world that I did not roll with back then.' So it was pretty funny, man."
Wylde, meanwhile, is set to release a new Black Label Society album, Doom Crew Inc., on November 26.