Thomas John "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an
American actor,
comedian and
musician. With his friend
Kyle Gass, he makes up one half of the comedy and rock music duo
Tenacious D. The group has two albums and a full-length movie. 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.
Biography
Early life
Black was born in California, the son of two
satellite engineers, Judith (
née Cohen) and Thomas William Black; his mother worked on the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Jack Black's mother is
Jewish and his father
converted to Judaism;
Black was thus raised Jewish.
On
The Tonight Show he said his surname may come from the
Scottish occupational name
Blacksmith.
[ Tonight Show with Jay Leno August 7, 2008] His parents
divorced when he was 10. Jack Black had a
Bull Mastiff and
Rottweiler mix named Chico. Chico died of
parvovirus soon after Jack's parents divorced. Black moved to
Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother’s home until the end of his first year of college at
UCLA when his father’s family moved to France. As a child, Black appeared in an early
Atari Pitfall! commercial,
which was later shown during an appearance on
Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
When he 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 primetime 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 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
High Fidelity, he was cast in the role of Barry, the pretentious co-worker to
John Cusack's record store owner, which garnered him more exposure.
His career soon led to leading roles in films such as
Shallow Hal,
Orange County,
School of Rock,
Envy,
Be Kind Rewind,
King Kong, and
Kung Fu Panda. Black starred in two films in 2006:
Nacho Libre, in which he played a
Mexican friar following his childhood dream of wrestling and pursuing true victory by fighting for the children of an orphanage, and
Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny, a fictionalized account of the band's formation and their quest to obtain a "supranatural" guitar pick.
Nacho Libre opened on June 16, 2006;
Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny was released November 22, 2006.
He starred alongside
Jude Law,
Cameron Diaz, and
Kate Winslet in
The Holiday, in which he played Miles, the love interest of Winslet's character. In 2007 Black starred in
Margot at the Wedding, opposite
Jennifer Jason Leigh and
Nicole Kidman, released November 16, 2007.
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 also a member of the
Frat Pack, 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 appeared on
VH1's Internet video show
Acceptable.TV.
Black has also voice acted for
The Simpsons episode "
Husbands and Knives", voicing the friendly owner of the rival comic book store, Milo. In 2008, he will be voicing the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the rock-themed action-adventure video game,
Brütal Legend. Black also appeared in a
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire celebrity edition along with
Denis Leary,
Jimmy Kimmel and others and walked away with $125,000.
In 2008 he appeared in three films. Black starred alongside
Mos Def in the film
Be Kind Rewind, which was written and directed by
Michel Gondry. He voiced the main character, Po, in the 2008 film
Kung Fu Panda to high critical praise. Finally, he appeared as Jeff 'Fats' Portnoy in
Tropic Thunder.
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. 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 (both Black and Gass appeared in Robbins' 1999 film
Cradle Will Rock), 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 recently helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation
to raise awareness and funds in San Diego on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can also be seen performing in the
Pauly Shore film
Bio-Dome, where the duo are performing 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.
Black has appeared in
music videos by
Beck, "
Sexx Laws";
Foo Fighters "
Learn To Fly", "
Low", and "
The One";
The Eagles of Death Metal, "
I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)";
Sum 41 "
Things I Want"; and
Weezer "
Photograph."
It is said that Black was the influence for Dr. Elder of the Berry Town children's book series.
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 with a $250,000
Neil Lane ring. 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 welcomed their second child, another boy, whom they named 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 doesn’t 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.
Filmography
Salaries
- $5,000,000 - Tropic Thunder (2008)
- $1,000,000 - Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny (2006)
["Jack Black Revisits The Glory Days Known as Tenacious D", The New York Times, October 8, 2006.] Split equally with Kyle Gass, with whom will share 10% of gross revenues once production and marketing costs are recouped.
- $8,000,000 - Nacho Libre (2006)
- $2,000,000 - Orange County (2002)
- $2,000,000 - Shallow Hal (2001)
