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 aChildren's and Family Emmy Award, aGrammy Award, and nominations for threeGolden Globe Awards. In 2018, he was awarded a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.
Thomas Jacob Black[2] was born inSanta Monica, California,[3] on August 28, 1969,[4] the son of satellite engineers Thomas William Black andJudith Love Cohen.[5] He was raised inHermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on theMinuteman nuclear missile guidance system, the Apollolunar module guidance system[6] and the science ground station for theHubble Space Telescope, and was also a writer.[7][8][9] He has three older half-siblings through his mother: scientistNeil Siegel, Howard Siegel, and Rachel Siegel.[9] His mother was born Jewish, to a family from Poland and Russia. His fatherconverted to Judaism, and is of German, English, Irish, and Scottish descent. Black was raised Jewish, attending Hebrew school and having abar mitzvah.[2][10][11]
Black's parents divorced when he was 10,[12] and his father then stopped practicing Judaism.[13][14] Black moved toCulver City with his father and frequently visited his mother's home. For high school, Black's parents enrolled him at thePoseidon School, a private secondary school designed for students struggling in the traditional school system.[15] He also attended theCrossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attendedUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),[16] but dropped out during his second year to pursue a career in entertainment.[17] Fellow UCLA studentTim Robbins later cast Black inBob Roberts. In 1995 and 1996, he gained recurring roles in theHBO sketch comedy seriesMr. Show.[18]
He voicedthe title role inKung Fu Panda, which grossedUS$20.3million on its opening day, June 6, 2008, as well asKung Fu Panda 2 andKung Fu Panda 3; this is his favorite role, and he praises the tutoring of co-star and two-time Academy Award winnerDustin Hoffman.[34] In addition toKung Fu Panda (2008),[35] He provided the voice of the main character, roadie Eddie Riggs, in the heavy metal–themed action-adventure video gameBrütal Legend, for which he won the Best Voice award at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2009.[36]
In 2010, Black made a guest appearance onCommunity[40] and also guest-starred on Nickelodeon'siCarly in an episode titled, "iStart a Fan War".[41][42] Black has appeared numerous times on the "untelevised TV network" short film festivalChannel 101, created byDan Harmon andRob Schrab, starring in the showsComputerman,Timebelt, andLaserfart. He also provided an introduction for the unaired sketch comedyAwesometown, donning aColonial-era military uniform. In the introduction, he claims to beGeorge Washington and takes credit for the accomplishments of other American presidents such asThomas Jefferson andAbraham Lincoln.[citation needed] His next film,The Big Year, a competitivebirdwatching comedy co-starringOwen Wilson,Steve Martin, andJoBeth Williams, was released in October 2011.[43] Black garnered a second Golden Globe Award nomination, this time in the category Best Actor in a Comedy, for his 2011 starring role in Richard Linklater'sblack comedyBernie. He played as real-life murdererBernie Tiede, a funeral director in a smallEast Texas town, who befriends and eventually murders a rich widow, played byShirley MacLaine. Black's subdued portrayal, authentic East Texas accent, and musical talent – he sings several gospelhymns as well as "Seventy-six Trombones" – hadRoger Ebert describing Black's work as "one of the performances of the year."[44] He presented the tribute toLed Zeppelin when the band was named as 2012 recipients ofKennedy Center Honors.[45] In 2016, Black joined the climate change documentary showYears of Living Dangerously as one of its celebrity correspondents.[46] In 2018, Black appeared in the music video forGorillaz song "Humility".[47]
In 2015, Black played a fictional version of real-life authorR. L. Stine forGoosebumps, and provided the voices of two of Stine's creations,Slappy the Dummy and The Invisible Boy.[48] He reprised the Stine role in the film's 2018 sequel,Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. He also voiced himself and many other additional characters on the animated YouTube series "Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto", which he also co-directed and co-wrote, along with hisTenacious D partnerKyle Gass. In 2017 he portrayed a teenage girl inhabiting the body of Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberonin the action adventure comedy filmJumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He starred alongsideDwayne Johnson,Kevin Hart andKaren Gillan. The film received positive reviews and was a financial success.[49]
Tenacious D helped the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation[63] raise awareness of these diseases and funds for the organization in Los Angeles on December 20, 2001,[64] and in San Diego, California on June 16, 2007. Tenacious D can be seen performing in the 90s-eraPauly Shore filmBio-Dome where the duo is performing its song "The Five Needs" at a "Save the Environment" party. Black was also a guest star on an episode ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Show entitled "Ellen the Musical", alongside Broadway starKristin Chenoweth and teenage singer-actressOlivia Olson. On the show, besides singing, he discussed his then-upcoming filmNacho Libre with the host.[citation needed]
Black did guest vocals and appeared on theDethklok soundtrack albumThe Doomstar Requiem.[69] He sings the parts for Dethklok's original band manager as well as a blogger. Black, as a member of Tenacious D, won the award for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards.[70] The song "The Last in Line" won the award, a cover of the song of the same name byDio that appeared on the tribute albumThis Is Your Life.[citation needed]
On July 14, 2024, Tenacious D celebrated Gass' birthday during their performance at theICC Sydney Theater. A birthday cake was brought out and Black encouraged Gass to make a wish. Gass responded, "Don't miss Trump next time," referring to theattempted assassination of Donald Trump the day before. Two days later, Black wrote on social media that he was "blindsided" by Gass' comment and that he did not condone hate speech or political violence "in any form". Tenacious D canceled the rest of their world tour, and Black said their "creative plans are on hold". Gass apologized on social media, calling his comment "highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake". Gass deleted his apology later that week.[71][72][73][74]
In 2025, "Steve's Lava Chicken", Black's song inA Minecraft Movie, became the shortest song in history to land on theBillboard Hot 100 chart. The song is 34 seconds long. The previous record holder was "Beautiful Trip" byKid Cudi, which is 37 seconds long.[75]
YouTube channel
On December 21, 2018, Black created a YouTube channel calledJablinski Games. Within one week of its launch, it had amassed over 1 million subscribers.[76] The videos published on the channel are typically either candid vlogs involving Black and his two sons, or gaming content.[77] Black created the channel largely to bond with his son, who serves asvideographer andeditor of the channel.[78][79] On July 21, 2019, Black took part in aMinecraft stream with popular YouTuberPewDiePie to raise money for theNational Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), in the wake of the suicide ofEtika in June 2019. After two days of streaming, they raised $30,479 with the stream being broadcast live both on YouTube and on the streaming platform DLive.[80][81] As of June 2025, Jablinski Games has 5.14 million subscribers and 239million video views.[82]
Production company
In August 2006, Black registered his own production company, Electric Dynamite Productions, Inc. The company's first work produced was the 2009 mockumentaryBranson, which was a co-production with BranMo Productions and Perfect Weekend.[83] In 2011, the company would produce two TV-movies, My Life As an Experiment and Shredd.[84] In 2013, the company notably produced TV seriesGhost Ghirls[85] for the now-defunctYahoo! Screen, as well as obtained the rights to adapt the UK mockumentaryWizard's Way intoa feature film.[86] The company would also be a producer credit onThe D Train (2015) andThe Polka King (2017), both of which featured Black in the starring role. The company producedThe Aquabats! RadVentures! in 2018, the dark-comedy filmHappily in 2021.[84]
Black encouraging people to wear face masks as part of California's "Your Actions Save Lives" campaign during theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020
At age 14, Black struggled withcocaine use. He said, "I was having a lot of troubles with cocaine... I was hanging out with some pretty rough characters. I was scared to go to school because one of them wanted to kill me. I wanted to get out of there."[125] One of Black's brothers, Howard, died ofAIDS in 1991 at age 36.[125] His oldest brother,Neil Siegel, is an engineer, scientist, and musician.[126]
Black dated actressLaura Kightlinger between 1996 and 2005.[f] In January 2006, Black became engaged to singerTanya Haden, a daughter of jazz bassistCharlie Haden. They had both attended Crossroads School, and 15 years after graduating they met again at a friend's birthday party. They married on March 14, 2006, inBig Sur, California.[132][133] Their sons were born in 2006 and 2008.[134][135]
Although anatheist,[136][137] Black identifies asnominally Jewish, and fatherhood influenced his decision to raise his children in the Jewish faith.[138]
Black endorsedBarack Obama's2012 re-election campaign.[139] In 2015, he visitedKampala as part ofComic Relief USA's Red Nose Day.[140] Black is an outspoken critic ofDonald Trump. On the day ofTrump's 2017 presidential inauguration, he and Tenacious D bandmateKyle Gass performed their 2006 protest song "The Government Totally Sucks". Black said to the audience beforehand, "We haven't played it for years, because it just never felt appropriate—but now, we're happy to unleash the beast. The government totally sucks."[141] Before the 2022 election, Black hosted a letter and text writing party to rallyVoteRiders volunteers engaged in educating eligible voters about voter ID requirements in their states.[142] Of the 2022 midterms, he said, "[S]o much is on the ballot this cycle. We've got a woman's right to choose. The environment is on the ballot, environmental protections. And not to mention democracy is on the ballot. There's so, there's so many divides in this country right now." Black said he viewed a potential reelection bid by Trump as a threat that is "always lurking in the background."[143]
^"Jumpin' Jack Black".Sydney Morning Herald. November 3, 2003. RetrievedJune 8, 2022.
^"Notable alumni actors". UCLA School of Theater, Film and television. Archived fromthe original on October 6, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 29, 2014.
^Radar, Dotson (October 8, 2015)."Thrills & Chills with Jack Black".Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays.Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. RetrievedJuly 29, 2019.
^Stiller, Ben (January 1, 2000),Heat Vision and Jack,archived from the original on December 7, 2016, retrievedSeptember 28, 2016
^Scott, Tony (September 10, 1993),True Romance,archived from the original on February 20, 2017, retrievedSeptember 28, 2016
^"Jack Black: On Music, Mayhem And Murder".NPR.Fresh Air. April 23, 2012. The interviewer (Gross) states that High Fidelity was his breakout role, which he (Black) agrees to with an audible 'uh-huh' (back-channel). Occurs at approximately 31:45 on the interview timecode.Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. RetrievedApril 24, 2012.
^"School of Rock". Rotten Tomatoes. October 3, 2003.Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. RetrievedApril 30, 2012.
"Peaches":"The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 1 May 2023".The ARIA Report. No. 1730. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 1, 2023. p. 4.
"Steve's Lava Chicken":"The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 May 2025".The ARIA Report. No. 1836. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 12, 2025. p. 4.
^"Jack Black: On Music, Mayhem And Murder".NPR. April 23, 2012.Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. RetrievedApril 24, 2012 – viaFresh Air.I don't have any real spirituality in my life – I'm kind of an atheist – but when music can take me to the highest heights, it's almost like a spiritual feeling. It fills that void for me.
^"Jack Black Will Do Anything To Get Into Hebrew School".Conan.TBS. April 27, 2012.Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. RetrievedAugust 7, 2015.And there's a Hebrew school that we really liked. And I feel a little hypocritical cause I'm an atheist. But I am a Jew and my wife is, too.
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