Jack Black is blowing up right now, thanks to his recent appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Mandalorian, so it's about time that we look back at our favorite appearances of his in movies and television. We're HalloweenCostumes.com, of course, which means we're biased towards costumes—but there are also plenty of "regular guy" Jack Black roles in here, too. Keep reading for our faves!
1. Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Peaches
Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches Peaches.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is breaking all kinds of box office records, like the biggest worldwide opening for an animated film and for a video game adaptation. But perhaps the biggest triumph of this movie was Jack Black's turn as Bowser! He also did a casual cosplay version of Bowser in the music video for his song "Peaches". We loved it so much that we wrote a Jack Black Peaches DIY tutorial—which is where the top image for this article came from!
2. Captain Bombardier in The Mandalorian
Look at that majestic beard!
Jack Black's guest appearance as Captain Bombardier in The Mandalorian episode "Chapter 22: Guns for Hire" has been polarizing to some Star Wars fans. We thought it was a fun appearance that was quintessentially Jack Black. We were also a fan of that royal military uniform, complete with cape and bandolier!
3. Dewey Finn in School of Rock
Jack Black and his late-60s SG demonstrate how to rock...with a little help from Jimi Hendrix.
There aren't any fancy costumes in School of Rock, just Jack Black dressing as...Jack Black, for the most part. He does wear a series of tacky/wacky button-ups with a bow tie, and later a suit and tie that resembles Angus Young's schoolboy uniform. But this movie has so much heart, we had to put it at #3, despite it being costume-light.
4. Nacho in Nacho Libre
The tagline for this movie was "He's not lean. He's not mean. He's nacho average hero." Seems about right.
What we love most about Jack Black is his commitment to the part—and his role as Ignacio or "Nacho" in Nacho Libre is no different. He has no inhibitions in that outrageous, shirtless luchador costume. It's too bad that a sequel never happened because we bet it would have been a blast.
5. Motorcyclist in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
That's how I roll!
Jack Black's cameo as the motorcyclist in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was hilarious, unexpected, and random—though "random" could describe just about everything in that movie. We'll never forget how he punts the (totally fake) Baxter off a bridge and follows it up with a casual "that's how I roll".
6. Po in Kung Fu Panda
This performance was explosive. (We're so sorry.)
Alright, so Kung Fu Panda was a CGI-animated appearance, not real life, but Jack Black sells it nonetheless. Po loves food and martial arts as much as Jack Black loves playing memorable and over-the-top characters, it seems. And we have to give Black credit for playing Po in all of the sequel films, shorts, and some of the television releases as well. (Have we mentioned that we love his commitment to his roles?)
7. Professor Oberon/Bethany Walker in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Nooo! I'm an overweight, middle-aged man!
We weren't prepared for how much fun the Jumanji sequel would be. Jack Black stars as Professor Sheldon "Shelly" Oberon, a video game character being played by high schooler Bethany Walker. So it's Black in a safari costume but acting like another character—a social media-obsessed teenage girl—which is beyond genius. We were also thrilled that he reprised his role for the sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level.
8. Jeff Portnoy in Tropic Thunder
Don't judge me!
Of course, we couldn't forget 2008's Tropic Thunder, a film that's about committing to the role. Jack Black plays drug-addicted actor Jeff Portnoy, who is himself playing a soldier named Fats. That's ironic because Portnoy is worried (in the film) about his legacy of obnoxious slapstick fatsuit humor—which is itself a reference to Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor roles. This movie has layers!
9. Barry Judd in High Fidelity
Ladies and gentlemen, Jack Black and his air guitar.
Jack Black had plenty of minor, supporting roles until his breakout appearance in 2000's High Fidelity. He played Barry Judd, the epitome hipster record store employee. He plays some air guitar, some real guitar, has a few Jack-Black-flip-out moments, but there's so much heart to his performance that he steals the show. It really was a sign of things to come for Black.
10. Jack Austin in Heat Vision and Jack
Look at that beautiful 240p resolution!
For #10 on this list, we're going all the way back to 1999's Heat Vision and Jack—which we admit is a deep cut. (It was a television pilot which was never picked up, but is available on YouTube.) Jack Black plays Jack Austin, a former astronaut whose exposure to the Sun makes him a genius during the day. His roommate was fused with a motorcycle, voiced by Owen Wilson, and it only gets weirder from there. And if that isn't the ultimate Jack Black role, we're not sure what is.
What did you think of our ranking? Did we include your favorite Jack Black role? Yell at us in the comments! If you're looking to dress as Jack Black from these or any other roles, be sure to check out our TV and movie costumes.
