1 | [[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2010_894.jpg]] |
2 | [[caption-width-right:290:He's in a suit, and he's scruffy? Well, I NEVER!!!]] |
3 | |
4 | ->''"I think of myself as an entertainment arsenal. Like I have my acting bazooka and my music machete. And you don't know what I'm going to come at you with."'' |
5 | |
6 | ''[[CatchPhrase What's Jablin's, Jables?]]'' |
7 | |
8 | What happens when a LargeHam meets ThePowerOfRock. |
9 | |
10 | Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969), better known as [[RhymingNames Jack Black]], is an American actor, comedian, and musician, as well as the [[HeterosexualLifePartners best pal]] of Kyle Gass. Together, they formed ''Music/TenaciousD''! |
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12 | Black's comedic style combines many key elements from both sides of the traditional [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine 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 [[TheStraightMan straight-man]] Gass often functions to trigger these outbursts. Even when appearing in a movie that many consider a flop, he's said to be able to make it bearable through his appearances alone -- his role as the villainous bully in ''Film/TheNeverendingStoryIIIEscapeFromFantasia'' was claimed by many to be the only good thing about it. |
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14 | Black first appeared in an un-aired pilot episode for a show directed by Creator/BenStiller and written by Creator/DanHarmon and Rob Schrab called ''Series/HeatVisionAndJack'' 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 Creator/OwenWilson. This pilot led to him forming a friendship with Harmon and Schrab which resulted in him making many cameos for Website/{{Channel 101}}. |
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16 | In 2000, Black appeared in ''Film/HighFidelity'' as a wild employee in Creator/JohnCusack's record store, a role which Black himself considered his breakout. The film also reunited him with Creator/TimRobbins, who had appeared with Cusack and Black in ''Film/BobRoberts'' eight years earlier. His career soon led to leading roles in films such as ''Film/ShallowHal'', ''Film/OrangeCounty'', ''Film/SchoolOfRock'', ''Film/{{Envy}}'', ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'', ''Film/KingKong2005'', ''Film/NachoLibre'', ''Film/TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'', ''Film/BeKindRewind'', the ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' series, and ''Film/TropicThunder''. (Oh, and [[VideoGame/BrutalLegend two]] [[VideoGame/BrokenAge video games]].) |
17 | |
18 | [[LeslieNielsenSyndrome Prior to his becoming known for his comedies]], a lot of his early acting career involved bit parts in serious movies (he played a crazed assassin in ''Film/BobRoberts'', the brother of Sean Penn's death row inmate in ''Film/DeadManWalking'', and in ''Film/EnemyOfTheState'' he played one of the NSA tech-support agents, to name three examples). ''Film/KingKong2005'' can be considered his first [[TomHanksSyndrome serious role]] as a star, though he [[PlayingAgainstType mellowed down his comedic persona a bit]] in ''Film/TheHoliday'' and ''Margot At The Wedding''. |
19 | |
20 | In 2009, he starred pretty much AsHimself in Creator/TimSchafer's ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' (only, like, six feet taller and really buff), alongside Kyle Gass, Music/OzzyOsbourne, [[Music/{{Motorhead}} Lemmy Kilmister]], and [[Music/JudasPriest Rob Halford]]. This meeting also allowed him to start a friendship with Schafer, nailing him a minor role in Creator/DoubleFine's next big game, ''VideoGame/BrokenAge''. |
21 | |
22 | Unfortunately, as the turn of the 2010s approached, Black's career began to go down a different track. After a praised role in ''Film/TropicThunder'', he got cast alongside Creator/MichaelCera in the prehistoric comedy ''Film/YearOne'', which tanked considerably at the box office and was destroyed by critics. Worse still, it was said to have finally revealed a {{Typecasting}} habit that he'd upheld in previous films, resulting in the upset of many audiences. His next big film, a [[Film/GulliversTravels2010 film adaptation]] of ''Literature/GulliversTravels'', was a massive domestic flop, which dealt an even bigger blow to his career. |
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24 | His subsequent appearances were in films that didn't fare much better critically and[=/=]or commercially (with the exception of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' and ''Film/{{The Muppets|2011}}'', in which he played a key cameo appearance). ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' seemed to be a CareerResurrection for him, but despite winning critical acclaim, it never got to a wide release. However, his next major film after ''Bernie'', the [[Film/Goosebumps2015 film adaptation]] of ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' (where he played a fictionalized version of Creator/RLStine, the series' creator), was well-received by critics and moviegoers and was a moderate box office success. Black's next live-action film, ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', was an acclaimed box-office smash, and Black himself received praise for pulling off a GenderBender performance that didn't reduce the character to a joke (despite being comic relief). He also starred in ''Film/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'', an Creator/EliRoth adaptation of [[Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls the book of the same name]] alongside Creator/CateBlanchett and Creator/KyleMacLachlan. |
25 | |
26 | Near the end of 2018, he started a "gaming" channel called [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuriCa9loP_OsH75_5j8M5w Jablinski Games]], mostly run and edited by his son. In other words, it's Jack Black hanging out with his kids and co-stars of his movies while being Jack Black. The channel amassed over a million subscribers after word got out about its existence as soon as the first video was uploaded. |
27 | |
28 | 2021 saw another collaboration with Double Fine, appearing as a brain in a jar in ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2''. The same year also saw him announced as the voice of Bowser in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment. He will follow that up with another video game adaptation, playing Claptrap in Eli Roth’s adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''. He also reprised his role as Po in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaTheDragonKnight'' and also appeared in [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda4 the fourth film in the franchise]]. |
29 | |
30 | Black is a member of the Creator/FratPack, a group of comedy actors who frequently work together. This group also includes Creator/OwenWilson, Creator/LukeWilson, Creator/BenStiller, Creator/WillFerrell, Creator/VinceVaughn, and Creator/SteveCarell. |
31 | |
32 | Not to be confused with the Victorian-era rat-catcher [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Black_%28rat_catcher%29 of the same name]], Manga/BlackJack, the character of the same name in ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'', [[BilingualBonus or]] [[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Jack Noir]]. |
33 | |
34 | !!Partial Filmography: |
35 | !!!Film |
36 | * ''Film/BobRoberts'' (1992): Roger |
37 | * ''Film/DemolitionMan'' (1993): Wasteland Scrap |
38 | * ''Film/TheNeverendingStoryIIIEscapeFromFantasia'' (1994): Slip |
39 | * ''Film/WaterWorld'' (1995): Pilot |
40 | * ''Film/DeadManWalking'' (1995): Craig Poncelet |
41 | * ''Film/TheCableGuy'' (1996): Rick Legatos |
42 | * ''Film/MarsAttacks'' (1996): Billy Glenn Norris |
43 | * ''Film/TheJackal'' (1997): Ian Lamont |
44 | * ''Film/EnemyOfTheState'' (1998): Fielder |
45 | * ''Film/HighFidelity'' (2000): Barry |
46 | * ''Film/SavingSilverman'' (2001): J.D. [=McNugent=] |
47 | * ''Film/ShallowHal'' (2001): Hal Larson |
48 | * ''Film/OrangeCounty'' (2002): Lance Brumder |
49 | * ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' (2002): Zeke |
50 | * ''Film/SchoolOfRock'' (2003): Dewey Finn |
51 | * ''Film/{{Envy}}'' (2004): Nick Vanderpark |
52 | * ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' (2004): Motorcyclist |
53 | * ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' (2004): Lenny |
54 | * ''Film/{{King Kong|2005}}'' (2005): Carl Denham |
55 | * ''Film/NachoLibre'' (2006): Ignacio / Nacho |
56 | * ''Film/TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'' (2006): JB |
57 | * ''Film/TheHoliday'' (2006): Miles |
58 | * ''Film/BeKindRewind'' (2008): Jerry Gerber |
59 | * ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'' (2008): Po |
60 | ** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' (2011) |
61 | ** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' (2016) |
62 | ** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda4'' (2024) |
63 | * ''Film/TropicThunder'' (2008): Jeff “Fats” Portnoy |
64 | * ''Film/YearOne'' (2009): Zed |
65 | * ''Film/{{Gullivers Travels|2010}}'' (2010): Lemuel Gulliver |
66 | * ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' (2011): Bernie Tiede |
67 | * ''Film/{{The Muppets|2011}}'' (2011): Himself |
68 | * ''Film/{{Goosebumps|2015}}'' (2015): R.L. Stine / Slappy |
69 | ** ''Film/Goosebumps2HauntedHalloween'' (2018) |
70 | * ''Film/ThePolkaKing'' (2017): Jan Lewan |
71 | * ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'' (2017): Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberan |
72 | ** ''Film/JumanjiTheNextLevel'' (2019) |
73 | * ''Film/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'' (2018): Jonathan Barnavelt |
74 | * ''WesternAnimation/ApolloTenAndAHalfASpaceAgeChildhood'' (2022): Adult Stan |
75 | * ''Film/WeirdTheAlYankovicStory'' (2022): Creator/WolfmanJack |
76 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' (2023): [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser Bowser]] |
77 | * ''Film/{{Borderlands|2024}}'' (2024): [[Characters/BorderlandsClaptrap Claptrap]] |
78 | !!!Television: |
79 | * ''Series/TenaciousD'' (1997-2000): JB |
80 | * ''Series/HeatVisionAndJack'' (1999): Jack Austin |
81 | * ''WesternAnimation/TakeTwoWithPhineasAndFerb'' (2010): Himself |
82 | * ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaTheDragonKnight'' (2022-2023): Po |
83 | * ''Series/TheMandalorian'' (2023): Captain Bombardier |
84 | * ''Series/HistoryOfTheWorldPartII'' (2023): UsefulNotes/JosefStalin |
85 | !!!Video Games: |
86 | * ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' (2013): Eddie Riggs |
87 | * ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'' (2022): Psi-King/[[spoiler:Helmut Fullbear]] |
88 | ---- |
89 | !! Tropes |
90 | * ApprovalOfGod: In some of the [[Memes/SesameStreet octagon]] VoiceClipSong videos on Website/YouTube, he posted comments as [=JablinskiGames=] giving the videos praise. His now-private liked videos playlist consisted almost solely of these videos. |
91 | * AscendedFanboy: He agreed to play Eddied Riggs in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' because he was a fan of [[Creator/TimSchafer Tim Schafer's]] last game ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}.'' Wouldn't you know it, he would go on to play a plot-integral character in the sequel ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2''. |
92 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: A ''lot'' of his film roles are characters with their heads in the clouds, both live-action and animation. |
93 | * CreatorBacklash: He's often expressed regret for getting paid as much as he did for ''Film/ShallowHal'', a role he was entirely dissatisfied with. |
94 | * CreatorsFavorite: Commented that his favorite role out of everything he's done is voicing Po in the ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' films. |
95 | * LargeHam: In a lot of his roles, he can devour scenery like nobody's business. |
96 | * PlayingAgainstType: While ''Film/TheDTrain'' at first seems like a typical BromanticComedy, with a Black slightly against type UptightLovesWild, but the halfway point marks a major change to both the film's tone and Black's character, taking it to a much darker place than audiences are used to with his roles. |
97 | * TrollingCreator: Black's "gaming channel" is actually a bunch of vlogs of him going to arcades or playing on pinball machines ([[ExactWords which are technically precursors to video games anyways]]). When he seemingly started to ''finally'' play a video game (''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'') with the standard LetsPlay format, he turns out to only be ''pretending'' to play and goes right back to old school stuff. |
98 | -->'''Jack''': [[RunningGag Sorry, no gaming videos this week]]. |
99 | ---- |
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