Jack Black

Actor, comedian, singer, writer, Jack Black has done it all. Born in Santa Monica, California, he attended UCLA and appeared in Tim Robbin's play Carnage, which was mounted at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 1989.

He went on to star as the fanatic fan in Robbin's film Bob Roberts (1992) and returned to work for Robbins in the critically acclaimed drama, Dead Man Walking (1995) playing the younger brother of a death row prisoner, and later on, in Cradle Will Rock (1999).

While performing his stand up comedy routine, Tenacious D, (which also features his band by the same name), director Ben Stiller saw the show, and decided to give Jack the role of Rick, the best friend of Matthew Broderick's character in The Cable Guy.

Jack has also starred in Mars Attacks! (1996), The Jackal (1997) and Enemy of the State (1998). He completed a role in Jesus' Son and co-starred in the film High Fidelity with John Cusack, winning a Blockbuster Entertainment award for Favorite Supporting Actor—Comedy.

From there, he moved on to a starring role in the feature film Shallow Hal, playing a less-than-attractive man who is only attracted to thin women, so he is hypnotized into falling in love with a 300-pound-woman (played by Gwyneth Paltrow in a "fat suit"). He next slipped back into supporting actor mode, playing the irresponsible brother of Colin Hanks in Orange County (2002). He has also lent his voice to various projects, such as the animated feature films Ice Age (2002) and Shark Tale (2004).

In 2003 Jack had his biggest success yet with the hit comedy School of Rock, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his role as a failed rocker who poses as a school teacher. In 2004, he received a ShoWest Special Award as Comedy Star of the Year. His then starred in the title role of an assistant funeral director in Richard Linklater's Bernie (2012). He also lent his voice to the animated film Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) and starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in the Jumanji reboot, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), as well as in the sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).

He also starred in the action-adventure film The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018) with Cate Blanchett and reprised his role as R.L. Stine in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jack did not work much, like many other actors. In 2020, he guest-starred on an episode of Home Movie: The Princess Bride, and in 2021, he guest-starred on an episode of Waffles + Mochi as himself. He also voiced characters in video games like Goosebumps: Dead of Night, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, and Psychonauts 2.

In 2022, he voiced the adult version of Stan in Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood and made a small appearance as Wolfman Jack in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story with Daniel Radcliffe. He returned to voice Po in the animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. He voiced the character for 42 episodes, spanning three seasons, ending in 2023.

In 2023, he voiced the iconic video game villain, Bowser, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He also guest-starred on an episode of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian with Pedro Pascal.

The following year, he returned as Po on the big screen in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He was also the voice of the robot Claptrap in Borderlands (2024) with Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Later that year, he played the lead role of Satan in Dear Santa (2024) with Keegan-Michael Key.

In 2025, Jack played Steve in A Minecraft Movie. The film reunited Jack and director Jared Hess, with whom he last worked on Nacho Libre (2006). Later in the year, he'll hit the big screen again in Anaconda (2025) with Paul Rudd.

On March 14, 2006, Jack married Tanya Haden, whom he knew from high school. The two reunited years later at a friend's party. Haden is an accomplished cellist who hails from a musical family. Considering that Jack is musically talented as well, the couple reconnected. Since their marriage, they have had two sons together—Samuel Jason and Thomas David.

Filmography:

A Minecraft Movie (2025)
Dear Santa (2024)
Borderlands (2024)
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)
The Mandalorian (2023)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Free LSD (2023)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2002)
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018)
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Goosebumps (2015)
The D Train (2015)
Sex Tape (2015)
The Big Year (2011)
Bernie (2011)
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Gulliler's Travels (2010)
Year One (2009)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Margot at the Wedding (2007)
The Holiday (2006)
Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006)
Nacho Libre (2006)
King Kong (2005)
Shark Tale (2004)
Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy (2003)
Envy (2004)
School of Rock (2003)
Run Ronnie Run! (2002)
Ice Age (2002)
Orange County (2002)
Frank's Book (2001)
Shallow Hal (2001)
Saving Silverman (2001)
High Fidelity (2000)
Jesus' Son (1999)
Cradle Will Rock (1999)
Enemy of the State (1998)
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)
Bongwater (1998)
Johnny Skidmarks (1998)
The Jackal (1997)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
The Fan (1996)
The Cable Guy (1996)
Bio-Dome (1996)
Crossworlds (1996)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Waterworld (1995)
Bye Bye, Love (1995)
The NeverEnding Story III (1994)
Blind Justice (1994)
Demolition Man
Airborne
Bob Roberts (1992)