Jack Black, on the other hand, is an actor first and foremost. Though ostensibly he made it in the world of comedy with his semi-parodic heavy metal duo Tenacious D, then carried that character into his first headlining hit, School Of Rock, he actually began as a member of Tim Robbins' Actors' Gang, and served his apprenticeship in myriad cameos. Tenacious D was just a sideline, raised to huge popularity by Black's onscreen success. His character in the band is simply that - another character - just like his bolshy, elitist music shop worker in High Fidelity, his uber-stoner in Orange County and even his metal-obsessed imposter-teacher in School Of Rock. He's funny, that's for sure, but he's never been merely a comedian. And the proof of that lies in the fact that, as he rose towards cinematic success, his main competitor - well, it was hardly a competition as the guy took nearly every part Black desired - was Philip Seymour Hoffman.