IVILLAGE
Jack Black may play kung-fu prodigy Po in the animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 2 (which hits theaters on May 26), but he hasn't had many sparring matches in real life.
"I was in a fight once, but I was defending myself," he tells iVillage exclusively. Was this fight about a role? A girl? Well, not exactly. "It was in Hebrew school," he admits. "This kid was bullying me ... I did not want to fight him. I remember ending up on his back -- I forced him to give me a piggyback ride."
But working to get laughs is something both Black and costar Dustin Hoffman (who reprises the role of martial-arts master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda 2, which costars Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, and Seth Rogen -- click here for an exclusive clip) have been doing since they were kids.
Hoffman, who admits to coming from a "tense house," turned to impressions to lighten the mood at family dinners. "I would imitate the argument," he tells iVillage. "I could actually make them laugh, which would break the tension."
"I was 7 or 8 when I was first trying to get a captive audience and make them laugh," says Black, who can pinpoint a specific Passover seder where he felt his comedic prowess really settle in. "I got some laughs from my family -- they were probably charity laughs -- (and) it had a transformative effect on me. From that day forward, I was hungering to get those laughs again."
Watch our exclusive video above to find out Dustin Hoffman's revelations about his abusive childhood and Jack Black's fighting tactics as a tween.
