From a wrestler living a double life, to a panda fighting to save a threatened village, here are 9 roles we love from Jack Black.
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00:00 "On keyboards, Mr. Cool. And on drums, Spazzy McGee."
00:05 From a rock star teacher to a panda fighting to save a threatened village,
00:10 here are 9 roles we love from Jack Black.
00:12 2000's High Fidelity saw Black play Barry, an employee of the record store owned by leading
00:21 man John Cusack's character, Rob. The Hollywood Reporter's review said Black "delivers a full
00:26 throttle comic performance that should bring him to the attention of casting directors who
00:30 have heretofore relegated him mostly to bland background roles." "No, not on mine.
00:35 Massive attack, no protection. The song is 'Radiation Ruling the Nation.'" "Oh,
00:40 kind of a new record. Very, in a minute, very nice, Rob." Black scored his first mainstream
00:46 starring role in the 2003 warm-hearted smash hit comedy School of Rock. Black played Dewey Finn,
00:51 a failed rock musician who bluffs his way into teaching misfit kids at a stuffy private school.
00:56 "I'm not a teacher." "Oh, Ned, a substitute is a teacher?" "No, no, I'm not a teacher. I'm a fraud."
01:06 Peter Jackson's 2005 blockbuster remake of King Kong saw Black play an old-school
01:11 Hollywood movie director. "Here's your story, boys. Beauty and the man who saved her from the beast."
01:17 The 2006 film Nacho Libre saw Black take on the role of a humble Mexican
01:26 monk with a secret double life as a masked wrestler. "They may have the appearance of
01:30 riches, but beneath the clothes, we find a man." Black also starred in the romantic comedy The
01:38 Holiday in 2006. The actor played Miles, a shy Hollywood movie score composer who
01:43 falls for Kate Winslet's character. "Have you seen this?" "Chariots of Fire, I loved it."
01:49 The actor has voiced his fair share of animated characters over the years,
01:59 including Poe in the Kung Fu Panda movies. His lively starring role in the first film,
02:03 released in 2008, launched a billion-dollar DreamWorks animation franchise.
02:08 "You may be the scariest bandit in Hajin province, but you're a lousy tipper." "Really?"
02:14 "So, how'd you get out of there alive? I mean, I didn't actually say that, but I thought it."
02:20 Black played Bernie, a 40-year-old who was considered to be the nicest,
02:24 most considerate man in the world in the 2011 film Bernie. Things take a turn when he's arrested for
02:29 the murder of an 81-year-old multi-millionaire heiress with whom he had been living. THR's
02:34 review called Jack's performance in the film, based on a true story, "splendid."
02:37 "Marjorie, you're making it very hard to be your friend. I'm gonna come back some other time."
02:42 "Go ahead, desert me, just like everybody else. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Go,
02:47 go, go, you hate me!" "Marjorie?"
02:49 2017's Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle saw Black portray the video game avatar of a
02:53 teenage girl named Bethany. "Okay, in flirting situations, the key is making them check you
02:59 out without letting them know that you know that they're checking you out. You're just like,
03:02 "Whatever, I'm doing me. And then when they try to talk to you,
03:04 you can play it in one of three ways. Dumb, super into it, or nasty."
03:09 He also returned for 2019's Jumanji The Next Level.
03:12 Speaking of video game characters, in 2023, Black voiced Bowser in the Super Mario Bros. movie.
03:18 The film saw Mario embark on a mission to rescue
03:20 his brother Luigi from the clutches of Black's evil character.
03:23 THR's review called this scene where Bowser professes his love for Princess
03:32 Peach via song one of the film's funniest. The review also said of his performance,
03:36 quote, "His exuberant voice work throughout lifts the film to another level."
03:40 For much more on Jack Black's career, go to THR.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.