If there’s a fella who was a perfect fit for the ‘very demure, very mindful’ trend currently sweeping social media, it would surely be Lawrence Dooley in School of Rock.
The adorable Horace Green prep school pupil barely made a peep in the first half of the film, until Dewey Finn (Jack Black) gave him a new lease of life when he stuck a keyboard in front of him.
He ended up being one of the main band members, alongside Freddy (Kevin Clark) on the drums, killer guitarist Zack (Joseph Gaydos Jr) and Katie (Rivkah Reyes), which goes to show how far encouragement from teachers can get a kid.
Take note, educators!
But if you (for some weird reason) needed any more reasons to love Lawrence, who was played by Robert Tsai, then just wait until you hear about how his real-life experience ended up shaping his character’s storyline.
School of Rock fans will remember that at one point in the 2003 film, the lad dubbed ‘Mr Cool’ who absolutely killed it on the keyboard started having second thoughts about being in the band.
Grab the Kleenex, because I’m about to remind you of what he said to Mr Schneebly on his lunch break.
Lawrence told his ‘teacher’: “I don’t think I should be in the band. I’m not cool enough. People in bands are cool, I’m not cool. Nobody ever talks to me.”
Robert Tsai’s personal life inspired this touching scene between him and Jack Black (Paramount Pictures)
Thankfully, after receiving some words of affirmation from Schneebly, who promised that he will ‘be the most popular guy in school’ if he followed through, he agreed to stick by his bandmates.
And thank God he did, as otherwise we wouldn’t have heard him absolutely roast his teacher by telling him – in jest – that he’s a ‘fat loser with body odour’. Sheer hilarity, that scene.
Anyway, it turns out that Tsai himself inspired the backstory behind Lawrence’s character, as he also struggled with his own image in real life.
During filming for School of Rock, the young actor reportedly approached director Richard Linklater and tried to convince him to let him give up the role of the keyboard king, explaining he felt that he ‘wasn’t right’ for it.
The skilled pianist is apparently still playing to this day (Rick Kern/Getty Images)
Apparently, the filmmaker managed to convince the then-13-year-old that this was the exact reason that he was perfect person to play Lawrence, in a pep talk which mirrored the one which Jack Black gave him in the film.
Linklater is said to have rejigged the script to fit this touching moment in, which proved to be a great decision.
So, where is Tsai now at the age of 34 and 21-years after School of Rock?
Well, much to our dismay, it seems he didn’t have much interest in forging a film career from himself on the back of the comedy’s success, and he stepped away from the spotlight.
However, he didn’t let his musical talents go to waste.
After the movie, Tsai went on to study at Dartmouth College in the US state of New Hampshire, while continuing to perform as a pianist, while Digital Spy reported that Tsai was a member of the dance troupe Instant Noodles Crew.
