Jack Black is returning as Po in Kung Fu Panda 4 and it has created a tremendous buzz. The fan-favorite movie franchise is back with another installment with more action and a star-studded cast including Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston, Ke Huy Quan, and co.
Black who is now busy on a promotional tour of the movie made a recent confession revealing that he has a striking similarity with his character in the franchise. It was also revealed by Mike Mitchell, the director of the movie. But the perks of playing the character fluently complement his way of life, he shares the same energy and enthusiasm.
Jack Black’s Made A Confession Before Kung Fu Panda 4’s Release
Ahead of the theatrical debut of Kung Fu Panda 4, Jack Black explained in a candid confession how his character Po has embedded into his way of life. And it is all uniquely tangled in the process of finding inner peace in his real life or the film through Po. “I feel like this is going to go badly,” Black told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview before his confession of singing Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero almost n*ked.
“I’m not going to be good at this. And I have to calm myself down and tell myself, ‘It’s just your mind. One nightmare that I often had, and most actors have, is that you’re on stage and you don’t remember what you’re doing there. I said I’m going to recreate my nightmare. So I took off my clothes down to my underpants, because that’s what nightmares do, and I just sang stuff off the top of my head. I took requests from the audience and ended up singing the Taylor Swift song.”
However, the actor clarified having no affinity with Swift in his performance for the self. He also did the same with Britney Spears as the actor was more afflicted towards the magical voices of the singers. The actor further iterated that he was thinking of Madonna and probably check out at least some of her songs for a few moves.
Jack Black On Playing Po Since 2008
Black has played Po since the first installment of Kung Fu Panda which came out in 2008. It was a massive hit claiming $631.7 million at the global box office while being the critical darling at the same time. Black tries to go easy with the character with just a few simple tricks in his sleeves. “I love to read through the whole scene,” he told Hindustan Times.
“Some people record it line by line, but I like to record the whole thing, even if it’s bad, to not stop till I get through the whole of it. And then I can go back and work on it line by line.”
Revealing further, the 54-year-old added that his sustainability lies in his acute sense of taking it slow, “When you don’t try too hard, you relax a little bit.”
“I actually do the action. That’s how I do it. When Po is physical, I’m physical. When he kicks, I kick. That was important for the director too. He wanted me to sound like I was physical. And that’s the only way,” he said of playing Po.
There will not be much of a debate to claim that Black as Po in the Kung Fu Panda franchise has been some of the greatest works he has done in his career. As the comedy adventure returned with another installment, Black is hopeful for a hit after making the movie with a production budget of $85 million.
Kung Fu Panda will hit the theaters on 15 March 2024.
