The Career of Jack Black: From High Fidelity to Kung Fu Panda

Jack Black Profile He is well known for bursting into tirades, while exploiting the power of his eyebrows. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be taking a look at the career of comedian, actor and musician Jack Black. Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black was born on August 28th, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, he is the son of two satellite engineers that worked on the Hubble Space Telescope. As a child, Black’s first brief exposure with the entertainment industry came as a result of starring in the 1982 commercial for the Activision video game “Pitfall!” Afterward, he attended several secondary schools for struggling students, due to his difficulties in the classroom. It was during this time that he discovered a true love for drama, which eventually influenced his decision to drop out of UCLA to pursue a career as an actor. Unfortunately, this caused a rift with his father, who voiced his disapproval of the decision and cut him off financially. Following this, he began to establish his comedic style as a member of the Los Angeles-based theatre troupe called “The Actor’s Gang.” As a result, Black’s comedy came to focus on the double act. this involved his introduction of serious topics, which he would quickly reveal to be seriously flawed or ludicrous. He would also become well known for his extreme outbursts of emotion. Soon enough, Black was cast in the 1992 mockumentary film “Bob Roberts” and landed a recurring role on the HBO comedy sketch series “Mr. Show.” Gaining recognition for his antics, he continued to appear in small roles on several other prime time television programs. This eventually led the aspiring actor back to film for small parts in movies such as “Demolition Man”, “The Cable Guy”, “Mars Attacks!” and “Enemy of The State.” However, it was in 2000 that his career really took off. This was due to playing a wild record store employee in the comedy “High Fidelity.” Instantly garnering his own fan base, he was soon able to secure lead roles in comedies such as “Shallow Hal”, “Saving Silverman” and “Nacho Libre.” Not just a comedy star, he appeared in summer blockbusters such as “King Kong”, and showcased his musical talents in such films as “School of Rock” and “Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny.” This particular film project was directly inspired by his real-world satirical rock band, that he had founded in 1994 with his musical partner Kyle Gass. Together, they would lend their rock opera storytelling style to videogame projects, such as “Rock Band” and “Brutal Legend”, while producing several of their own albums. At the same time, Black has starred in a string of hilarious comedies. These include the films, “Be Kind Rewind”, “Tropic Thunder”, and the remake of “Gulliver’s Travels.” However, one of his best known roles is that of Po in the highly acclaimed “Kung Fu Panda” series of summer blockbusters. Making a career out of his bumbling and cocky characters, Jack Black continues to make audiences laugh with his over-the-top antics and bizarre comedic personality.