Five Jack Black roles where he doesn’t just play himself
In recent years, even die-hard fans of Jack Black have been forced to admit the portly comedian/rock star/loveable dude has been phoning it in a bit. I like Black’s family comedies and rib-tickling cartoon voiceover work as much as the next guy, but it feels like a very long time since Black tackled a project that didn’t fall into either of these categories.
Alarmingly, in the last decade, Black has made two Goosebumps movies, two Jumanji movies, the third and fourth Kung Fu Panda films, Borderlands, The Super Mario Brothers Movie, Dear Santa, and A Minecraft Movie. Every single one of these movies featured Black doing classic Black stuff, with results ranging from side-splitting to awkwardly unfunny to downright depressing.
In truth, it’s felt like Black has needed a Hollywood reset for several years, but it doesn’t seem like that’s on the cards. After all, he’ll next be seen in an Anaconda remake, reimagining the original ’90s creature feature as a zany comedy horror. Will this be good? Unlikely, because the first movie wasn’t very good, either. But will it make Black a ton of money? Almost certainly.
It’s enough to make even Black’s most ardent supporter feel sad about his future, but have no fear. With this list, I’ll remind you that ‘Jables’ is actually a talented actor who can turn his hand to many things. This will illustrate that he has it in him to push the boat out by playing characters who aren’t like himself – he just doesn’t do it very often.
Five Jack Black roles where he doesn’t play himself:
Bernie Tiede – ‘Bernie’ (Richard Linklater, 2011)
If any one role hints at the dramatic capabilities hidden underneath Black’s customary zaniness, it’s Bernie Tiede in Richard Linklater’s black comedy drama Bernie. In this hidden gem of a movie, which is based on a real-life crime, Black dials down all his usual instincts for energetic capering, blustery confidence, and loveable lunacy to play a man who is painfully nice at his core, but somehow also holds within him the potential for murder.
Bernie was the second collaboration between Black and indie darling Linklater, and it genuinely couldn’t have been more different from their first. However, in a way, the films show the two sides of Black’s acting capabilities.
School of Rock’s Dewey Finn is the most quintessential Black role, and he has traded on its essence for much of his career. Bernie is the dark mirror image of that joyous, heartwarming movie, and it showed that Black was more than capable of playing morally ambiguous characters with layers to their public and private personas.
Carl Denham – ‘King Kong’ (Peter Jackson, 2005)
When it came time for Peter Jackson to cast his 2005 King Kong remake, the Lord of the Rings helmer knew precisely who he wanted to play the darkly ambitious director Carl Denham. In fact, he was so sure that it had to be Black that he didn’t approach any other actors.
Jackson envisioned Denham in the mould of the Old Hollywood visionary Orson Welles, and Black did a sterling job in the movie of infusing that inspiration with the showmanship of PT Barnum, as well as a terrifying desperation all his own. For Black, the goal was not to give an impression of Welles but to capture the spirit of a reckless artist who would stop at nothing to achieve his vision on-screen.
If that meant dooming a ship full of people to death on Skull Island, so be it, and if it meant removing an animal from its homeland to chain it up and parade it in Hollywood for fame and fortune, all the better. Black’s eyes are key to this part, and he showed that he had it in him to play a compelling villain; it’s just a shame he’s not really played anyone like Denham since.
Rick Legatos – ‘The Cable Guy’ (Ben Stiller, 1996)
Before High Fidelity saw Black break out as one of his generation’s most talented comedic stars, he starred in bit part roles throughout the ’90s in movies of various genres. He played tech guys in The Fan and Enemy of the State, both Tony Scott action thrillers, as well as a weapons manufacturer in The Jackal and the younger brother of a Death Row inmate in Dead Man Walking. However, our favourite role from this period is undoubtedly Rick Legatos in Ben Stiller’s black comedy The Cable Guy, primarily because he’s a million miles away from Black’s usual screen persona.
If there is one quality that defines the average Black character, and the man in real life, it’s likability. He’s generally a fun mix of exuberance, mischief, and innocence, and that’s a potent cocktail. Legatos couldn’t be further from this, though, mostly because he’s kind of an unlikeable jerk, even when he’s doing the right thing.
In The Cable Guy, Legatos knows Jim Carrey’s mysterious and potentially dangerous ‘Chip’ Douglas is not who he says he is, and he’s worried that he’ll hurt his best friend Steven (Matthew Broderick), so he sets out to expose him. Theoretically, this is admirable – but there’s just something smug and unnecessarily aggressive about Legatos, which makes it seem like Steven might be better off with Chip as a best pal. Spoiler alert: he wouldn’t. Chip is dangerous.
Miles – ‘The Holiday’ (Nancy Meyers, 2006)
It’s unlikely that many people in Hollywood, or many audiences, have ever looked at Black and thought, “That man should be in a rom-com.” I’m not talking about a Shallow Hal-style gross-out rom-com, by the way, which he is perfect for. I’m talking about a classic romantic comedy where we’re meant to buy him as a regular guy falling in love with a woman, and doing whatever he can to make their relationship work.
Here’s the thing, though: Black did make one movie like this, and it’s genuinely beloved. In 2006’s The Holiday, he romances Hollywood’s greatest English rose, Kate Winslet, no less, despite not looking like the classical tall, dark, and handsome rom-com stereotype. He convinces the audience that Winslet would fall for him, too, because he’s adorable, funny, and sweet-natured.
Unfortunately, Black has never returned to this particular well, and it’s likely because the character of Miles – and the idea of conveying a genuine romance on-screen – felt alien to him. He was nervous about the film from the get-go, because the part required him to display “sensitivity that I’m not used to showing.” This meant he was relieved when he didn’t have to kiss Winslet in the movie because, “I am not one for big public displays of affection, and you can’t get more public than in a major motion picture.” If anything, perhaps Miles from The Holiday is most ‘not himself’ Black has ever been on-screen.
Alex Talbot – ‘The Brink’ (Jay Roach, 2015)
Does anyone remember when Black starred in the HBO comedy series The Brink? He played put-upon Foreign Service Officer Alex Talbot, who is sent to the US Embassy in Islamabad during a geopolitical crisis. Tim Robbins played the Secretary of State, and farcical Dr Strangelove-esque political hijinks ensued. No? Well, that’s not surprising – the show only lasted one season and wasn’t particularly well-liked while it was on.
However, points must be given to Black for trying something different with a satirical television show so thoroughly embedded in modern-day politics. This was thinking outside the box for the jovial star, who admitted to not being a political guy, as such. He mused, “I’m not as well-versed in world politics, but I’m all about diplomacy over war. So I guess I’m a bit of a hippie.”
On top of that, playing a lowly, disrespected FSO officer who wishes he was James Bond but is actually kind of a dweeb is also not a character type he often inhabits on-screen. Black’s thing is confidence – most often the hilariously unearned kind – but Talbot is lacking in any of his customary bravado, and dialling it down in that way is strange for any Black fan to watch.
