Line #8 Creator/JackBlack


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''!
11
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.
13
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}}.
15
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.
23
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/EnemyOfTheState'' (1998): Fielder
44	* ''Film/HighFidelity'' (2000): Barry
45	* ''Film/SavingSilverman'' (2001): J.D. [=McNugent=]
46	* ''Film/ShallowHal'' (2001): Hal Larson
47	* ''Film/OrangeCounty'' (2002): Lance Brumder
48	* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' (2002): Zeke
49	* ''Film/SchoolOfRock'' (2003): Dewey Finn
50	* ''Film/{{Envy}}'' (2004): Nick Vanderpark
51	* ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' (2004): Motorcyclist
52	* ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' (2004): Lenny
53	* ''Film/{{King Kong\|2005}}'' (2005): Carl Denham
54	* ''Film/NachoLibre'' (2006): Ignacio / Nacho
55	* ''Film/TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'' (2006): JB
56	* ''Film/TheHoliday'' (2006): Miles
57	* ''Film/BeKindRewind'' (2008): Jerry Gerber
58	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'' (2008): Po
59	** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' (2011)
60	** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' (2016)
61	** ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda4'' (2024)
62	* ''Film/TropicThunder'' (2008): Jeff “Fats” Portnoy
63	* ''Film/YearOne'' (2009): Zed
64	* ''Film/{{Gullivers Travels\|2010}}'' (2010): Lemuel Gulliver
65	* ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' (2011): Bernie Tiede
66	* ''Film/{{The Muppets\|2011}}'' (2011): Himself
67	* ''Film/{{Goosebumps\|2015}}'' (2015): R.L. Stine / Slappy
68	** ''Film/Goosebumps2HauntedHalloween'' (2018)
69	* ''Film/ThePolkaKing'' (2017): Jan Lewan
70	* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'' (2017): Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberan
71	** ''Film/JumanjiTheNextLevel'' (2019)
72	* ''Film/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'' (2018): Jonathan Barnavelt
73	* ''WesternAnimation/ApolloTenAndAHalfASpaceAgeChildhood'' (2022): Adult Stan
74	* ''Film/WeirdTheAlYankovicStory'' (2022): Creator/WolfmanJack
75	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' (2023): [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser Bowser]]
76	* ''Film/{{Borderlands\|2024}}'' (2024): [[Characters/BorderlandsClaptrap Claptrap]]
77	!!!Television:
78	* ''Series/TenaciousD'' (1997-2000): JB
79	* ''Series/HeatVisionAndJack'' (1999): Jack Austin
80	* ''WesternAnimation/TakeTwoWithPhineasAndFerb'' (2010): Himself
81	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaTheDragonKnight'' (2022-2023): Po
82	* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' (2023): Captain Bombardier
83	* ''Series/HistoryOfTheWorldPartII'' (2023): UsefulNotes/JosefStalin
84	!!!Video Games:
85	* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' (2013): Eddie Riggs
86	* ''VideoGame/Psychonauts2'' (2022): Psi-King/[[spoiler:Helmut Fullbear]]
87	----
88	!! Tropes
89	* 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.
90	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: A ''lot'' of his film roles are characters with their heads in the clouds, both live-action and animation.
91	* CreatorBacklash: He's often expressed regret for getting paid as much as he did for ''Film/ShallowHal'', a role he was entirely dissatisfied with.
92	* CreatorsFavorite: Commented that his favorite role out of everything he's done is voicing Po in the ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' films.
93	* LargeHam: In a lot of his roles, he can devour scenery like nobody's business.
94	* 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.
95	* 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.
96	-->'''Jack''': [[RunningGag Sorry, no gaming videos this week]].
97	----

Context Creator / JackBlack