Jack Black is known to be one of the most versatile and successful actors globally renowned for his works like Shallow Hal, School of Rock, and Kung Fu Panda film franchise. But what struck us the oddest is him playing as R.L. Stine himself, and here’s why he’s the perfect actor to play the author:
They were apparently housemates. In order to make his character closer to the real Stine, he moved in with the great author himself. They chatted and toured around before the start of the filming of the Goosebumps movie. Black got to learn about Stine’s quirks and personality up close.
Jack Black definitely knows how to turn up the party. Of course, just because he is playing a real-life character doesn’t mean that he should play it all to the tee. He gave himself a lot of leeways to make the character original. He also finds ways to make his Stine more memorable to the viewers. For example, his vanity towards his track record of 62 books and 4 million copies sold worldwide.
Jack Black is charming to both young and old. If you look at Black’s previous movies, you can see that he is a well-rounded actor accepted by both kids and adults. His audience loved him in his movies such as in Gulliver, School of Rock, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Kung Fu Panda, and a whole lot more.
Jack Black is both scary and not scary all at the same time. The best thing about how he played his character in the Goosebumps movie is that he made it possible to be scary and not scary at the same time. In fact, this is just one of the things that the real R.L. Stine wanted. Black is that scary uncle next door trying to shoo away his daughter’s potential suitors; but if you look past that bravado, you’ll find out that he isn’t all that scary after all.
Jack Black looks the part. Another thing that makes Black the perfect fit for the R.L. Stine role in the Goosebumps movie is that he can look the part. Literally. From his hair to his clothes – he almost looks like a younger version of R.L. Stine.
If you have watched the Goosebumps movie, then you can probably critique Jack Black’s performance as R.L. Stine. Were you satisfied or disappointed? Share with us your thoughts about Black’s versatile role in the movie as well as what you are expecting in his absence for the Goosebumps sequel.