Most people think Jack White’s first turn as a feature film actor was in Cold Mountain, opposite then-girlfriend Renée Zellweger, but diehard White Stripes fans know that his first role was in The Rosary Murders, a 1987 Donald Sutherland starring drama, where a 12-year-old White (née John Gillis) played an altar boy. A fitting role, considering he was bound for a stint at a seminary in the future. Well, a much more interesting early John Gillis acting gig happened between those films and it’s set to appear at the Comic-Con International-Independent Film Festival later this month: Mutant Swinger from Mars.
The film, written and directed by Michael Kallio, was pieced together back in 1997/98 for a mere $22,000, according to this White Stripes fansite. Though White only has a minor role as Mikey in the sci-fi spoof, there’s a rumor floating around that he will be appearing in a videotaped introduction for the film’s Comic-Con showing.
I haven’t seen the picture yet, but the trailer is pretty funny and there’s definitely a late-90s Detroit vibe going on. Watch the trailer below (or jump to 1:05 for a brief clip of 22-year-old Jack and his bowl cut hairdo):