It won’t certainly be out of place to describe Jack Black as a man with the Midas touch as everything he touches always works effortlessly. As an actor, Black has featured in several comedic blockbusters including the high-grossing Jumanji franchise as well as the classic family-favorite, School of Rock.
As a comedian, Black has featured in a handful of sketch shows and is also a member of the comedy/hard rock band known as Tenacious D. Not unmindful of the power of the internet, the comic actor has also extended his influence to the social media realm and has a gaming channel on YouTube.
Table of Contents
1 Jack Black’s Early Brushes With Theatre2 He Has Become One of Hollywood’s Finest Comedic Actors3 His Work With ‘Tenacious D’ Showcases His Music Talent4 Jack Black And Tanya Haden Got Married In 20064.1 The Couple Has Two Sons Together
Jack Black’s Early Brushes With Theatre
Thomas Jacob Black was born on the 28th of August 1969 in Santa Monica, California. The American actor comes from a distinguished family; his father’s name is Thomas William while his mother’s name is Judith Love. His parents are renowned engineers and were involved in the development of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Black is the only biological child his parents had together. He, however, has three half-siblings from his mother’s earlier marriages; two brothers – Neil Siegel and Howard, and sister – Rachael.
Jack Black fell in love with drama and comedy at an early age and desired to pursue a career in that direction. His wish came true at the age of 13 when he landed spots in a video game commercial and a cereal Ad. He subsequently joined The Actors Gang, a theatre troupe founded by Tim Robbins, who immediately recognized Black’s talents and offered him roles in his projects. The teenage boy, however, rejected these roles as he was struggling with some demons including drug use. These inner demons later made his parents enroll him in a new high school.
At the new school, Crossroads School, Jack Black rediscovered his love for drama with the help of his drama teacher. He re-joined The Actors Gang and was given a part in a stage production of Carnage in 1989. From thereon, he made his film debut in the 1992 mockumentary film Bob Roberts. Three years later, Jack became a member and writer on the HBO sketch comedy show, Mr. Show. His stint on the series lasted from 1995 – 1996 during which he collaborated with other comics including Sarah Silverman.
He Has Become One of Hollywood’s Finest Comedic Actors
Jack Black spent the remainder of the 90s, scoring guest appearances in several TV shows. He then got his deserved big break with the dawn of a new millennium in 2000 when he landed a part in the rom-com High Fidelity, which revolved around a music store owner, Rob, who has a poor track record with women. In the film, Black portrayed the store’s exuberant clerk named Barry. His show-stealing scenes created a buzz around him, leading to several lead roles.
For the remainder of the 2000s decade, Jack scored leading roles in movies such as Shallow Hal, Gulliver’s Travels, and Year One. His biggest project was, however, the 2003 comedy musical, School of Rock. In the movie, Black portrays a struggling rock artist who becomes a substitute teacher in order to pay the bills. He subsequently transforms his class of prim and proper students into a bunch of rockers. School of Rock was both a commercial and critical success. Black’s excellent lead performance earned him several recognitions including the MTV Award for Best Comedic Performance.
The 2010s decade has seen Jack Black further consolidate his status as one of the most beloved funny men in Hollywood with appearances in movies such as The Holiday, Bernie, and Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle. The California native has also lent his voice to the highly-successful animated franchise, Kung Fu Panda. Black voiced the lead character in the franchise with the first film grossing $631.7 million at the box office. The film has since spurned two equally successful sequels, in which Black has reprised his voice role; the sequels have totaled around $1.1 billion at the cinemas.
His Work With ‘Tenacious D’ Showcases His Music Talent
Jack Black has been able to accumulate a fortune pegged at $30 million. His sources of income not only include movies but also music. Black co-founded a comedy rock group, known as Tenacious D, with Kyle Glass in 1994. Glass is also an actor as well as a former member of The Actors Gang.
The duo’s debut eponymous album was released in 2001 and was described by Entertainment Weekly as ‘Hilarious’. The album sold about one million copies in the US alone and was certified platinum. Five years later in 2006, Black and Glass returned with their sophomore effort, The Pick of Destiny. It debuted at No.8 on the Billboard 200 charts and equally recorded huge sales.
Tenacious D’s latest album is 2018’s Post-Apocalypto. The 21-track effort features songs and skits, and has charted in over eight countries including Australia, Austria, Scotland, Sweden, Belgium, and Germany.
Jack Black And Tanya Haden Got Married In 2006
The School of Rock star is married to a gifted cellist and classical musician named Tanya Haden. His wife, Tanya, is the daughter of famed jazz bassist, Charlie Haden. She is also a triplet, and her sisters are named Petra and Rachael. Petra and Rachael are also classical musicians and together, all three sisters form the group – The Haden Triplets. The Haden Triplets have lent their instrumental skills to bands such as Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age. They also have an eponymous vocal album which was released in 2020.
Jack Black and Harden first crossed paths at the Crossroads School. They, however, did not strike up any relationship as the actor was pretty shy and couldn’t approach many young ladies. As luck would have it, the two bumped into each other at a friends’ birthday party 15 years after graduation. This time around, Black did not waste any time in making his move and they started dating in 2005. They got engaged in January 2006 and tied the knot three months later, on the 14th of March, 2006, in California.
The Couple Has Two Sons Together
The couple now has two sons together. The first is Samuel Jason (b. June 2006) and their second is Thomas David (b. May 2008). Black is quite crazy about his sons and avoids taking on any projects which would uproot them from home for long periods. The comic is also smitten with his wife and has even revealed that he initially detested the concept of marriage due to his parent’s painful divorce. It was his romance with Tanya that changed his mind as he never felt the need to ‘escape’ from her.
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