Background and career
Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He has played leading roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated features. His accolades include an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2018, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Black began acting at age 13, and his early films include Dead Man Walking (1995), The Cable Guy (1996), Mars Attacks! (1996) and Enemy of the State (1998). He gained recognition for starring in the romantic comedy High Fidelity (2000), which led to substantial roles in films like Shallow Hal (2001) and Orange County (2002). He established himself as a leading man with a starring role in the musical comedy School of Rock (2003), earning a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actor. He then starred in the films King Kong (2005), The Holiday (2006), Nacho Libre (2006) and Tropic Thunder (2008). Also in 2008, he began voicing Po in the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
Black was critically praised for portraying Bernie Tiede in the biographical thriller film Bernie (2011), receiving several Best Actor award nominations. Following career fluctuations, he experienced a resurgence with roles in Goosebumps (2016), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) and A Minecraft Movie (2025). He also voiced Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and its sequel, receiving a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the former.
Outside of acting, Black formed the comedy musical duo Tenacious D with long-time friend Kyle Gass in 1994; they have won one Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Since 2018, he has run a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games.
