Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an
American actor,
comedian, and
musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and heavy metal music duo
Tenacious D. The group has two albums and a full-length film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He is a member of the
Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several
Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a
Golden Globe award. He has also won an
MTV Movie Award, and a
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
Early life
Black was born in
Santa Monica,
California, the son of two
satellite engineers, Judith (
née Cohen), who worked on the
Hubble Space Telescope and Thomas William Black. Black's mother is
Jewish and his father
converted to Judaism; Black was thus raised as Jewish.
On
The Tonight Show he said his surname may have come from the
Scottish occupational name
Blacksmith.
[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. August 7, 2008] Black's parents
divorced when he was 10. At the time, Black had a
Bull Mastiff/
Rottweiler mix named Chico, who died of
parvovirus soon after his parents divorced. Black moved to
Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home. As a child, Black appeared in an commercial for the
Activision game
Pitfall! in
1982,
which was later shown during an appearance on
Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. When Black entered high school, his parents suggested that he should transfer to the
Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system.
Black eagerly accepted the proposition, afraid that he would only be
bullied if he remained in public school. He also attended the
Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. Black later attended
UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in the entertainment business, at which point his father discontinued his financial support. Fellow UCLA veteran
Tim Robbins later cast Black in
Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the
HBO sketch comedy series
Mr. Show.
Acting career
Black's acting career began with prime time TV. He played roles on several shows such as:
The Golden Palace (Taxi Driver),
Life Goes On (skinhead),
Northern Exposure (Kevin Wilkins, prom king), HBO's
Mr. Show, and
Picket Fences (Curtis Williams). In a season 3 episode of
The X-Files, titled "D.P.O.", Black played Bart 'Zero' Liquori, friend to Darren, a teen who could cause lightning strikes, played by
Giovanni Ribisi. Black appeared in an un-aired
pilot episode for a show directed by
Ben Stiller called
Heat Vision and Jack where he played an ex-astronaut pursued by actor
Ron Silver. He was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by
Owen Wilson.
Black later took on small roles in
Airborne,
Demolition Man,
Waterworld,
The Fan,
The NeverEnding Story III,
The Cable Guy,
Bob Roberts,
Mars Attacks!,
The Jackal,
Bye Bye Love,
Jesus' Son,
Dead Man Walking,
Saving Silverman,
Enemy of the State, and
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. In 2000, Black appeared in
High Fidelity as a wild employee in
John Cusack's record store, a role which Black himself considered his breakout.
His career soon led to leading roles in films such as
Shallow Hal,
Orange County,
School of Rock,
Envy,
King Kong,
Nacho Libre,
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny,
Be Kind Rewind,
Kung Fu Panda, and
Tropic Thunder.
He guest-starred on
The Office along with
Cloris Leachman and
Jessica Alba in a movie within the show.
Jack Black has appeared numerous times on the "untelevised TV network"
short film festival Channel101, starring in the shows
Computerman,
Timebelt, and
Laserfart. He also provided an introduction for the un-aired sketch comedy,
Awesometown, donning a
Colonial-era military uniform. In the introduction, he claims to be
George Washington (and takes credit for the accomplishments of other American Presidents such as
Thomas Jefferson and
Abraham Lincoln), and gives viewers a general idea as to what they should expect from the show. Black has also guest starred in the
Adult Swim show
Tom Goes to the Mayor as a bear trap store owner.
Black hosted the 2006
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on April 1, 2006 and hosted it again on March 29, 2008. He also appeared on the
MTV video music awards on August 31, 2006. He is a member of the
Frat Pack, a group of comedy actors who frequently work together, which also includes
Owen Wilson,
Luke Wilson,
Ben Stiller,
Will Ferrell,
Vince Vaughn, and
Steve Carell. Jack Black has made five appearances on
Saturday Night Live: three times as a host, once as a musical guest (with Kyle Gass as Tenacious D), and another appearance with Tenacious D, not as a host or musical guest. He produced and appeared on
VH1's internet video show
Acceptable.TV.
Black has voice acted for
The Simpsons episode "
Husbands and Knives", which aired 18 November, 2007, voicing the friendly owner of the rival comic book store, Milo. Black appeared in a
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire celebrity edition along with
Denis Leary,
Jimmy Kimmel and others and walked away with US$125,000 . On December 14, Jack Black hosted the Spike TV VGA Awards 2008. He voiced the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the rock-themed action-adventure video game,
Brütal Legend.
Music career
[
] of
Tenacious D]].
Black is the lead singer for the rock comedy band
Tenacious D. They have released two albums, a self-titled
debut, and the follow up,
The Pick of Destiny, from which one of their songs "The Metal" was used in the music video game "
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" and "Master Exploder" also went on to be used in music video game
Rock Band 2 along with their album 'Tribute'. These two songs feature in the film
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. The film, directed by Tenacious D veteran
Liam Lynch, features recurring characters such as Lee the superfan and Sasquatch.
Tim Robbins cameos as does
Dave Grohl as
Satan.
Ben Stiller also makes an appearance as a worker at
Guitar Center, and also another appearance in the music video for "
Tribute".
Tenacious D helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation
to raise awareness and funds in San Diego on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can be seen performing in the
Pauly Shore film
Bio-Dome where the duo are performing their song "The Five Needs" at a "Save the Environment" party. Black was also a guest star on an episode of
The Ellen DeGeneres Show entitled "Ellen the Musical", alongside
Broadway star
Kristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actress
Olivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming film
Nacho Libre with the host.
Black has also appeared on Dave Grohl's
Probot album, providing vocals for the hidden song "I Am The Warlock", and Lynch's
Fake Songs album, providing vocals for the song "Rock and Roll Whore". Black performed a cover of
Marvin Gaye's "
Let's Get It On" in the last sequence of
High Fidelity. He lent his musical abilities to the
Queens of the Stone Age song "Burn the Witch" with rhythmic stomps and claps, some performed with his eyes closed. He also provided vocals for
The Lonely Island's track "Sax Man" from the album
Incredibad.
Black has appeared in
music videos of
Beck "
Sexx Laws";
Foo Fighters "
Learn To Fly", "
Low", and "
The One";
The Eagles of Death Metal's "
I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)";
Sum 41's "
Things I Want"; and
Weezer's "
Photograph."
Personal life
Regarding exercise, Black has been quoted as saying that
Ultimate is the only form of exercise that he doesn't hate.
Black dated actress and comedian
Laura Kightlinger from 1997 until 2005. In January 2006, he became engaged to
Tanya Haden (daughter of the jazz double bassist
Charlie Haden, and sister of violinist and singer
Petra Haden). Haden herself is an accomplished cellist. Both attended Crossroads school, but met again 15 years after graduating, at a friend's birthday party. Black proposed marriage around
Christmas 2005. They married on March 14, 2006, in
Big Sur, California.
Their son, Samuel "Sammy" Jason Black, was born on June 10, 2006, at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in
Los Angeles.
On May 23, 2008, Black and his wife had their second child, Thomas David Black.
Comedic style
Black's comedic style combines many key elements from both sides of the traditional
double act. Black typically begins a skit in which he presents an earnest introduction to a premise or subject that quickly reveals itself to be flawed or fundamentally ludicrous. Black then switches completely to a far-extreme caricature of human emotion.
His would-be straight-man Gass often functions to trigger these outbursts. Tenacious D’s subject matter illustrates this technique. In "
Tribute", Tenacious D tells a story in which they claim to have performed "The Greatest Song in the World" for a "Shiny Demon" who would otherwise "EAT THEIR SOULS". In "
Inward Singing", Black does not merely discover a new vocal technique, he discovers what he refers to as "the most powerful tool in singing technology since
yodeling". Black's skits also use the catchphrase 'more cushion for the pushin', a self-deprecating reference to his abdominal body fat.
Internet
In December 2008, Black appeared in a video on
funnyordie.com as Jesus in a musical on
Prop 8 titled
"Prop 8 The Musical".
["Prop 8 The Musical"] The video was shot in Santa Monica, CA, at Santa
Monica Community College and was the brainchild of five time Oscar nominee
Marc Shaiman and directed by
Adam Shankman.
The video features a host of other celebrities including
Neil Patrick Harris,
John C. Reilly,
Allison Janney,
Kathy Najimy,
Craig Robinson,
Andy Richter,
Maya Rudolph,
Rashida Jones,
Lake Bell,
Sarah Chalke,
Margaret Cho,
Jenifer Lewis,
and
Nicole Parker.
Filmography
