Jack black biography college movie

American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1969)

For other uses, see Jack Black (disambiguation).

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and nominations for three Golden Globe Awards.

After portraying supporting roles in films including Dead Man Walking (1995), The Cable Guy (1996), Mars Attacks! (1996), and Enemy of the State (1998), Black had his breakout role in the musical film High Fidelity (2000). This led to larger roles in films like Shallow Hal (2001) and Orange County (2002), before he solidified his leading man status with his starring role in School of Rock (2003). Black has since starred in King Kong (2005), The Holiday (2006), Nacho Libre (2006), Tropic Thunder (2008), Bernie (2011), Goosebumps (2016), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), its sequel Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018). He has also voiced Po in the Kung Fu Panda franchise (2008–present) and Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

Black is the lead vocalist of the duo Tenacious D, which he formed in 1994 with long-time friend Kyle Gass. They won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for "The Last in Line" in 2015. Since 2018, Black has operated a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games.

Early life

Thomas Jacob Black was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 28, 1969, the son of satellite engineers Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen. He was raised in Hermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on the Minuteman nuclear missile guidance system, the Apollo lunar module guidance system and the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope, and

(Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

School of Rock turns 20!

He was raised by satellite engineers, he grew up to wield the Pick of Destiny, and he’s amassed an impressive — and impressively eclectic — filmography as a manic funnyman, dramatic actor, and everything in between. We’re talking, of course, about the one and only Jack Black, a movie star whose singularly effusive charisma has helped fuel a string of blockbuster hits — King Kong, Tropic Thunder, the Jumanji revival —  and cult classics — High Fidelity, Nacho Libre, School of Rock — stretching back for more than a quarter of a century. Clearly, this is a collected achievement worth celebrating — which is exactly why we’ve gone to the effort of rounding up his major film roles and sorting them by Tomatometer. How many Jack Black movies have you seen, and where do your favorites rank? Read on to find out!

(1969-)

Who Is Jack Black?

Jack Black was born on August 28, 1969, in Santa Monica, California. His breakthrough role came in 2000's High Fidelity, and he starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in 2001's Shallow Hal, before headlining the widely praised School of Rock in 2003. Black's animated film project Kung Fu Panda scored big at the box office in 2008 — the same year the actor appeared in the comedy Tropic Thunder. More recently he appeared in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps (2015) and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017). Black also serves as one half of the Grammy-winning comedy rock duo Tenacious D.

Early Life

Actor, musician and comedian Jack Black was born Thomas Jacob Black on August 28, 1969, in Santa Monica, California. One of the more popular character actors of recent years, Black's acerbic wit and high-energy antics have made him a standard bearer for the Generation X demographic.

Black attended UCLA, where he became a member of Tim Robbins' Actors Gang, a Los Angeles-based performance troupe that also spawned John Cusack. Black would make his film debut with Robbins and later play opposite Cusack in a highly memorable role.

Movies

'Bob Roberts,' 'Jesus' Son'

In Robbins' political spoof Bob Roberts (1992), Black had a small but critically noted role as a fanatical supporter of the titular presidential hopeful. He went on to land a steady stream of bit parts in feature attractions such as Waterworld (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), The Cable Guy (1996), Mars Attacks! (1996), The Jackal (1997), Enemy of the State (1998) and Cradle Will Rock (1999). But it was in more independently oriented projects that Black's talents were given free rein. His brief turn in HBO's Mr. Show and his critically acclaimed performance as a pill-popping hospital attendant in Jesus' Son (1999) bolstered his reputation as a comic force.

'High Fidelity'

Black's breakthrough came with the 2000 adaptation of the popular Nick Hornb

2003 film directed by Richard Linklater

This article is about the film. For the television series based on the film, see School of Rock (TV series). For the educational video series, see Schoolhouse Rock! For other uses, see School of Rock (disambiguation).

School of Rock (titled onscreen as The School of Rock) is a 2003 comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sarah Silverman. Black plays struggling rockguitarist Dewey Finn, who is fired from his band and subsequently poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After witnessing the musical talent of the students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders to attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands and use his winnings to pay his rent.

School of Rock was released on October 3, 2003 by Paramount Pictures, grossing $131 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Black's performance and humor. It was the highest-grossing music-themed comedy of all time until the release of Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015. A stage musical adaptation opened on Broadway in December 2015, and a television adaptation aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from March 2016 to April 2018.

Plot

Rock band No Vacancy performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn creates on-stage antics, including an unsuccessful stage dive that abruptly ends the performance. The next morning, his roommate Ned Schneebly and Ned's domineering girlfriend, Patty Di Marco, inform Dewey he must either pay his overdue share of the rent or move out. At a rehearsal session, Dewey is informed that he has been fired from No Vacancy and replaced by another guitarist, Spider. While trying to sell some of his equipment, Dewey answers a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the pr