When consideringJack Black’s career in film and television, the word “game” immediately comes to mind.
Read on to see how many of the following 15 movies and TV shows fit that bill.
But Black’s casting as the Nintendo plumbers' eternal nemesis, Bowser, was not one of them.
Nintendo and Universal Studios
Where to watchThe Super Mario Bros. Movie: Amazon Prime Video (to purchase)
14.
(1996)
Within the interplanetary scope ofMars Attacks!, Black’s role is small but crucial.
Where to watchMars Attacks!
- Warner Bros.
Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
13.
Did Black, like his guts-and-gore-inclined director, feel a need to adjust for an all-ages audience?
“No,“he told EW in 2018.
Quantrell Colbert/Universal Pictures
“You want to bring the spicy mustard.”
And that he does, delivering a turn that goes toe-to-toe with no less an acting powerhouse thanCate Blanchett.
What turned the web connection off?
Red Hour Films
The knowingly chintzy special effects?
Where to watchHeat Vision and Jack: YouTube
11.
Exhibit A: Black, who although not a full-time participant inMr.
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment/Everett
Show with Bob and David’s interlocking sketches, still factored heavily into two of its shining moments.
Naturally, they’re both musical numbers.
Each sketch is an ambitious display ofMr.
Universal/Everett
Show’s pretzel-logic premises and deep-cut reference points, but they’re also great showcases for Black.
Show with Bob and David: Max
10.
Where to watchKing Kong: PeacockandTubi
9.
DreamWorks Animation
The film thrives on Black’s star power without needing to show his ever-expressive face.
Where to watchKung Fu Panda: Max
8.
Orange County (2002)
In 2002, the teen comedyOrange Countymade headlines for bridging multiple Hollywood generations.
Paramount/Everett
Where to watchOrange County: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
7.
Where to watchBe Kind Rewind: Cinemax on HuluorAmazon Prime Video
6.
Where to watchMargot at the Wedding: Pluto TV
5.
New Line Cinema/Everett
Working with much of theMr.
Where to watchTenacious D: Max
4.
One does not simply castRobert Downey Jr.as a five-time Oscar winner who undergoes “pigmentation alteration” (i.e.
Paramount Classics/Everett
Where to watchTropic Thunder: Pluto TV
3.
But it’s also a two-hour-plus, Nancy Meyers-directed argument on behalf of Jack Black, Romantic Lead.
Where to watchThe Holiday: YouTube
2.
New Line/Everett
Where to watchHigh Fidelity: Hulu
1.
School of Rock (2003)
Dewey Finn is the ultimate Jack Black role.
“Had he not wanted to do it, I probably would have thrown the script away.”
DreamWorks/Everett
Where to watchSchool of Rock: Paramount+
Related content:
Everett Collection
Everett Collection
Jack Black and Kevin Alexander Clark in ‘School of Rock’ (2003).Paramount/Everett Collection
