I realize that a recap of 32 Jack Black roles seems a bit lengthy — it’s in no way a list of 32 good Jack Black roles — however, this is actually the trimmed down version. He might not have the seemingly never-ending list of IMDB credits of say your Danny Trejos or Samuel L. Jacksons, but the man has worked a lot. If a TV show or movie in the 90s called for a character resembling goofy/fat/high/energetic or any other adjective used to describe a “party dude” you can bet Jack Black was in the role. There’s no telling how many wannabe actors never got their shot as the “funny fat guy” in that sitcom because Jack Black kicked down the door and snagged the part.
Jack Black might not be landing as many starring roles as he did ten years ago, but he’s still chuggin’ along with the Kung Fu Panda franchise and will star as your favorite 90s teen horror author, R.L. Stine, in the film adaptation of Goosebumps next year. With today being Black’s birthday — he’s 45 — it provides the opportunity to look back at his many bit parts over the years on his climb up the Hollywood ladder. I’ve left out the bigger Jack Black roles that you likely haven’t forgotten about (School of Rock, Orange County, really anything between 2000-2005) in favor of focusing on the smaller stuff and random TV cameos. We’ll finish up with his most recent TV cameo on frequent collaborator Dan Harmon’s Community, but to kick things off let’s look at his first taste of TV.
1. The Fall Guy, Young Colt’s Friend — 1984
“Old Heroes Never Die”
2. Bob Roberts, Roger Davis — 1992
3. The Golden Palace, Taxi Driver — 1992
“Seems Like Old Times Part 2”
(This was a spin-off of The Golden Girls that lasted only one season.)
4. Airborne, Augie — 1993
5. Demolition Man, Wasteland Scrap — 1993
6. Northern Exposure, Kevin Wilkins — 1993
“A River Doesn’t Run Through It”
7. The Neverendng Story III, Slip — 1994
8. All American Girl, Tommy — 1994
“A Night at the Oprah”
9. Bye Bye Love, Party DJ — 1995
10. Waterworld, Pilot — 1995
11. The X-Files, Bart ‘Zero’ Liquori — 1995
“D.P.O.”
12. Dead Man Walking, Craig Poncelet — 1995
13. Mr. Show with Bob and David, various characters — 1995-1996
various episodes
14. Crossworlds, Steve — 1996
15. Bio-Dome, Tenacious D appearance — 1996
16. Picket Fences, Curtis Williams — 1995 and 1996
“Dog Eat Dog” and “Snow Exit”
17. The Cable Guy, Rick — 1996
18. The Fan, Broadcast Technician — 1996
19. Mars Attacks!, Billy Glenn Norris — 1997
20. Bongwater, Devlin — 1997
21. The Jackal, Ian Lamont — 1997
22. Johnny Skidmarks, Jerry — 1997
23. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Titus Telesco — 1998
24. Enemy of the State, Fielder — 1998
25. The Love Letter, Fisherman — 1999
26. Jesus Son, George — 1999
27. Heat Vision and Jack , Jack — 1999
(Unfortunately this Dan Harmon pilot with Owen Wilson never made it to air, maybe because its hilariously cheesy premise involved a talking motorcycle.)
28. Will & Grace, Dr. Isaac Hershberg — 2002
“Nice in White Satin”
29. Computerman, Computerman — 2003-2004
6 episodes
(This was Dan Harmon’s short-lived webseries about a man who evolves out of a computer keyboard.)
30. Laser Fart, The Elegant Hunter — 2004 and 2005
Episode 1.2 and 1.8
31. The Office, Sam — 2009
“Stress Relief”
32. Community, Buddy — 2010
“Investigative Journalism”
