Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films High Fidelity (2000), Shallow Hal (2001), Orange County (2002), School of Rock (2003), Envy (2004), King Kong (2005), The Holiday (2006), Gulliver's Travels (2010), Bernie (2011), The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018), and the Jumanji franchise; in addition, as of August 2022, his music video for "Tribute"—as one half of the Grammy Award–winning comedy rock duo Tenacious D—has accumulated more than 112 million views on YouTube alone. Additionally, he is also well known for his voice-acting roles as the giant panda named Po from DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda films. Black gained Golden Globe nominations for his work in School of Rock and Bernie, and was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2018.
He is the lead vocalist of the Tenacious D, and formed the duo in 1994 with long-time friend Kyle Gass. They have released four studio albums together—their self-titled debut Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny, Rize of the Fenix, and Post-Apocalypto—in addition to starring in the television series Tenacious D (1997–2000) and film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006). Since 2018, Black has maintained a YouTube channel called Jablinski Games.
Early life
Thomas Jacob Black was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 28, 1969, the son of satellite engineers Thomas William Black and Judith Love Cohen. He was raised in Hermosa Beach, California. His mother worked on the Minuteman nuclear missile guidance system, the Apollo lunar module guidance system, the science ground station for the Hubble Space Telescope, and was also a writer.
He has three older half-siblings through his mother: scientist Neil Siegel, Howard Siegel, and Rachel Siegel. His mother was born Jewish, and his father converted to Judaism. Black was raised Jewish, attending Hebrew school and having a bar mitzvah. His ancestry also includes English, German, Irish, Northern Irish, Polish, Russian, and Scottish.
Black's parents divorced when he was 10, and his father then stopped practicing Judaism. Black moved to Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother's home. As a child, he appeared in a commercial for the Activision game Pitfall! in 1982. For high school, Black's parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, a private secondary school designed for students struggling in the traditional school system. He also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in entertainment. Fellow UCLA student Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. In 1995 and 1996, he gained recurring roles in the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.
