Jack Black (actor)
Jack Black (born
Thomas Black, Jr.,
August 28,
1969), is an
American actor and
musician. Black and
Kyle Gass are the comedy/rock duo
Tenacious D. He is considered a core member of the
Frat Pack, a group of comedians active in today's
Hollywood films. Black has made cameos in several
Foo Fighters music videos, as well as a video for
Eagles of Death Metal and
Queens of the Stone Age.
Early life
Black was born in
Redondo Beach,
California to Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen. His mother is Jewish and his father converted to
Judaism when he married Black's mother.[
1] He grew up in
Hermosa Beach in a tumultuous home environment where his parents' constant battling left him scarred. In a last-ditch effort to save the marriage, his parents briefly joined a
polyamorous group,
Family Synergy. They divorced when he was ten; both parents eventually remarried. As a child, Black appeared in an early
Atari Pitfall commercial, which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Jack moved to
Culver City with his father but frequently visited his mother's home until the end of his first year of college when his father's family moved abroad. Black started taking
drugs in an attempt to fit in and stole money from his mother to buy
cocaine, but realized he had a problem and started therapy soon after.
At the beginning of his freshman year in high school, Black eagerly accepted his parents' suggestion to attend the
Poseidon School, a private academy. His reasoning included a fear of bullies in the public school and a need to deal with his drug problem. Black also attended
Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. When Jack dropped out of
UCLA in his sophomore year to pursue a career in the entertainment business, Black's father discontinued financial support. Fellow UCLA veteran
Tim Robbins later cast Jack in
Bob Roberts, his first film role. Black also had recurring roles on the
HBO sketch comedy series
Mr. Show.
Acting career
Black took on small roles in
The Cable Guy,
Bob Roberts,
Waterworld,
The Jackal,
Bye, Bye Love and
Enemy of the State before a breakthrough role as Barry, the pretentious co-worker to
John Cusack's record store owner in
High Fidelity. His career soon led to leading roles in films such as
School of Rock,
Shallow Hal and
King Kong. Black's most recent film is
Nacho Libre, where he plays a
Mexican friar following his childhood dream of wrestling and pursuing true victory by fighting for the children of an orphanage. The movie opened on
June 16,
2006.
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 unaired 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.
In a un-aired pilot episode for a show directed by
Ben Stiller called
Heat Vision and Jack where he played a super-smart ex-astronaut that was pursued by actor
Ron Silver. He was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by
Owen Wilson.
In Season 3 Episode 3 of the
X-Files, titled "D.P.O.", he played Zero, friend to Darin, a teen who could cause lightning strikes, played by
Giovanni Ribisi.
Black recently hosted the 2006
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on
April 1, 2006.
Music career
Black is the lead singer for the folk-rock comedy band
Tenacious D, which perhaps owes much of their popularity to Black's unorthodox, humorous lyrics. Tenacious D's fans often cite his skilled satire of hard rock and metal as much as they do the band's musicianship. Black's singing style is often described as being an odd
scat type of music. For example, in the song "
Wonderboy", one of his lines is "Rrrigga-gyu-gyu Rrrigga-gyu-gyu", an example of his verbalized guitar solo. This type of singing appears in many Tenacious D songs in place of a melodic or ripping guitar sound. Black has dubbed this form of singing the "ventrili-solo." Black has also performed a two-part scat with bandmate Kyle Gass in the song "
Tribute". Tenacious D has only released one album, the self-titled
Tenacious D. Black is generally credited for inventing
inward singing, although he has never submitted a patent application for the
technique.
Jack Black has also appeared on Dave Grohl's
PROBOT album, providing vocals for the hidden song "I Am The Warlock".
Personal life
Black dated actress and comedian
Laura Kightlinger from 1997 until 2005. In January 2006, he became engaged to his current wife
Tanya Haden (daughter of the famous jazz
double bassist
Charlie Haden), whom he began dating after his split from Kightlinger in
2005. Haden and Black eloped in March 2006; Black spent US$220,000 on a ring for her.
[Total Film magazine, page 19; "News by Numbers". Printed April 2006.] Their first child, son Samuel Jason, was born on
June 10, 2006.
Black has admitted to using
ecstasy during the filming of
King Kong with another member of the crew whose identity he refuses to reveal. He has clarified that it does not reflect on his overall behavior during filming.
He was also a supporter of
John Kerry during the
2004 U.S. presidential elections.
.
*Jack Black and
School of Rock were referenced in
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, via a pornography spoof titled
"School of Cock" starring "Jack Blackcock."
*Before he was a big star, in
2000 he was referenced in the spoof film
Scary Movie. Characters in the film talk about how annoying his Jamaican stoner character in
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is.
Shawn Wayans' character (Ray) comments, "Ohh, I want to kill that motherfucker."
* Is the host of the 2006 VMAS
*$2,000,000 - Orange County (2002)
*$2,000,000 - Shallow Hal (2001)
*$1,000,000 - Saving Silverman (2001)
[IMDB URL last accessed 20 May 2006]In addition to those of Tenacious D, Black has appeared in the following music videos:
*
Beck, "
Sexx Laws"
*
Dio, "Push"
*
Foo Fighters, "
Learn To Fly"
* Foo Fighters, "
Low"
* Foo Fighters, "
The One"
*
The Eagles of Death Metal, "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)"
*
Foo Fighters, cover of
AC/DC's song "
Back in Black" at MTV New Year's Eve Party 2003
*
Queens Of The Stone Age, "
Burn The Witch"
*
The Frat Pack tribute pageInterviews
*
Kansas City Star interview (February 28, 2006)
*
The Observer interview (November 2005)
*
Ugo.com interview (October, 2003)
*
Brant Publications interview (October, 2002)
*
The Onion AV Club interview (October 31, 2001)
*
The Believer Magazine interviewReferences
