Jack Black facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jack Black
Black in 2023
Born	Thomas Jacob Black (1969-08-28) August 28, 1969 (age 55) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	JB Jables Jablinski Jackalous McBlackelby
Occupation	Actor comedian musician
Years active	1982–present
Works	Filmography
Spouse(s)	Tanya Haden ​ (m. 2006)​
Partner(s)	Laura Kightlinger (1996–2005)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Judith Love Cohen (mother)
Relatives	Neil Siegel (half-brother)
Musical career
Genres	Comedy rock acoustic rock hard rock heavy metal
Instruments	Vocals guitar
YouTube information
Years active	2018–present
Genre	Let's Play vlog
Subscribers	5.14 million
Total views	239.7 million
Subscriber and view counts updated as of July 13, 2025.
Signature

Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is a famous American actor, comedian, and musician. He is well-known for his roles in funny movies and family films. He also lends his voice to many popular animated characters. Jack Black has won a Children's and Family Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. He has also been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards. In 2018, he received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Jack Black started with smaller roles in movies like Dead Man Walking (1995) and Mars Attacks! (1996). He became widely known after his role in the musical film High Fidelity (2000). This led to bigger parts in films such as Shallow Hal (2001) and Orange County (2002). He became a leading actor with his starring role in School of Rock (2003). Since then, he has appeared in many big movies. These include King Kong (2005), The Holiday (2006), and Nacho Libre (2006). He also starred in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and its sequel Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). He voiced Po in the Kung Fu Panda movies (2008–present). He also voiced Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).

Besides acting, Jack Black is the lead singer of the band Tenacious D. He started this band in 1994 with his friend Kyle Gass. They won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2015. Since 2018, Jack Black has also run a popular YouTube channel called Jablinski Games.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Jacob Black was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 28, 1969. His parents, Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen, were satellite engineers. He grew up in Hermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on important projects like the Apollo lunar module guidance system. She also worked on the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope.

Jack Black's parents divorced when he was 10 years old. He then moved to Culver City with his father. He often visited his mother's home. For high school, he attended the Poseidon School. This was a private school for students who needed a different learning environment. He also went to the Crossroads School, where he was very good at drama. Later, he attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). However, he left during his second year to focus on his acting career.

Career Highlights

Early Acting Roles

Jack Black's first acting job was in 1982. He was 13 years old and appeared in a TV commercial for the video game Pitfall!. In 1987, he joined a theater group called the Actors' Gang. This group was started by UCLA students, including Tim Robbins. Black performed in many stage plays.

He began getting small roles on TV shows. These included Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, and The X-Files. He also appeared in movies like Airborne (1993), Demolition Man, and Waterworld. He had a small part in True Romance as a security guard, but his scene was removed from the final movie.

Becoming a Star

Jack Black in 2011

In 2000, Jack Black co-starred in the film High Fidelity. He played a lively employee in a record store. Black believes this role helped him become known in Hollywood. He soon started getting main roles in movies. These included Saving Silverman and Shallow Hal.

He received a lot of praise for his main role in School of Rock (2003). This performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. In 2004, he voiced Lenny in Shark Tale. He also voiced Zeke in Ice Age (2002).

In 2005, he played filmmaker Carl Denham in Peter Jackson's King Kong. This was one of his few serious roles. In 2006, he starred in the romantic comedy The Holiday with Kate Winslet. He also starred in and produced the comedy film Nacho Libre (2006). The same year, he starred in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, which he also wrote and produced. In 2008, he starred in Be Kind Rewind and the war comedy Tropic Thunder.

Jack Black at a Kung Fu Panda 2 premiere in June 2011

Jack Black voiced Po in the animated movie Kung Fu Panda (2008). This movie was a huge success. He continued to voice Po in Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. He has said that Po is his favorite character to voice. He also voiced Eddie Riggs in the video game Brütal Legend. He won an award for Best Voice for this role in 2009.

Recent Work

In 2009, Jack Black appeared in an episode of The Office. He also starred in the adventure comedy Year One with Michael Cera. In 2010, he made guest appearances on Community and Nickelodeon's iCarly.

In 2011, he starred in The Big Year, a comedy about birdwatching. He also received another Golden Globe nomination for his role in Bernie (2011). In this film, he played a funeral director who gets into trouble in a small town. Critics praised his performance.

Awkwafina, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan in 2019

In 2015, Jack Black played a fictional version of author R. L. Stine in Goosebumps. He also voiced two of Stine's characters in the movie. He returned as Stine in the sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018). In 2017, he played a teenage girl trapped in the body of Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He starred alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan. The movie was very popular and successful. He returned for the sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), which was also a big hit.

In 2019, he starred in the fantasy film The House with a Clock in Its Walls with Cate Blanchett. In 2022, he voiced a character in the animated film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood. He also played disc jockey Wolfman Jack in the movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022). He continued voicing Po in the Netflix animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. He also made guest appearances on Big Nate and Rick and Morty.

In 2023, Jack Black voiced Bowser in Illumination's animated movie The Super Mario Bros. Movie. This film was a huge international success. That same year, he played Joseph Stalin in the Hulu comedy series History of the World, Part II. He also appeared as Captain Bombardier in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Jack Black reprised his role as Po in Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). He voiced Claptrap in the movie Borderlands (2024). Most recently, he played Steve in A Minecraft Movie (2025).

Other Projects

Music Career with Tenacious D

Jack Black is the lead singer and guitarist for the comedy rock duo Tenacious D. He formed the band with Kyle Gass. They have released five albums, including their first, Tenacious D, and The Pick of Destiny. Some of their songs have been featured in video games like Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rock Band 2. Their songs "Master Exploder" and "The Metal" were also in their movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. This film included other famous actors like Tim Robbins and Ben Stiller. Dave Grohl also made a cameo as Satan.

Jack Black performing in 2006

Tenacious D has also helped raise money for good causes. They supported the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. Jack Black has also provided backing vocals for other bands. He sang on The Vandals' song "Fourteen" and Dave Grohl's Probot album. He also sang on The Lonely Island's song "Sax Man".

In 2015, Tenacious D won the award for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards. They won for their cover of the song "The Last in Line" by Dio. In 2025, "Steve's Lava Chicken", a song by Jack Black from A Minecraft Movie, became the shortest song to ever appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is 34 seconds long.

Jablinski Games YouTube Channel

On December 21, 2018, Jack Black started a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games. Within just one week, it gained over 1 million subscribers. The channel usually features videos of Jack Black and his two sons. They often share vlogs or gaming content. Jack Black created the channel to spend more time with his son, who helps film and edit the videos. In July 2019, Jack Black participated in a Minecraft live stream with popular YouTuber PewDiePie. They raised money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). As of June 2025, Jablinski Games has over 5.14 million subscribers.

Production Company

In August 2006, Jack Black started his own production company called Electric Dynamite Productions, Inc. This company has produced several films and TV shows. Their first project was the 2009 mockumentary Branson. They also produced the TV series Ghost Ghirls in 2013. The company has also been involved in producing films like The D Train (2015) and The Polka King (2017), both of which starred Jack Black. More recently, they produced The Aquabats! RadVentures! in 2018 and the film Happily in 2021.

Filmography

Discography

Soundtrack Albums

Charted Songs

Awards and Nominations

Jack Black has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards. On September 18, 2018, he received a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Accolades

Personal Life

Jack Black's older brother, Howard, passed away in 1991. His oldest half-brother, Neil Siegel, is an engineer and scientist.

Jack Black dated actress Laura Kightlinger for several years. In January 2006, he became engaged to singer Tanya Haden. She is the daughter of jazz musician Charlie Haden. They had gone to the same high school and met again years later at a friend's party. They got married on March 14, 2006, in Big Sur, California. They have two sons, born in 2006 and 2008.

Jack Black has spoken about his political views. He supported Barack Obama's re-election campaign in 2012. In 2015, he visited Kampala as part of Comic Relief USA's Red Nose Day. He has also expressed his opinions about Donald Trump. On the day of Trump's 2017 presidential inauguration, he and Kyle Gass performed their song "The Government Totally Sucks." Before the 2022 election, Black helped rally volunteers for VoteRiders. This group helps educate voters about ID requirements. He emphasized the importance of voting for issues like women's rights and environmental protection.

See also

In Spanish: Jack Black para niños