Black tries hand at drama in 'Kong'

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Jack Black says making "King Kong," an action-adventure classic set in 1933, was a big change from acting in his usual contemporary comedies.

"It was a different role than most of the ones that I'd played in the past," said the star of "Orange County," "Shallow Hal," "High Fidelity" and "School of Rock."

"This has got some darker elements to it and it's a period piece, which I don't usually do," he explained. "And it's not all about just, 'Here comes that crazy Jack Black, gonna do his thing!'"

In this film, Black plays an obsessed filmmaker who leads a cast and crew to a mysterious island inhabited by dinosaurs and a giant gorilla.

"I had to concentrate on where this character was coming from, the time and the place in the world where he was," Black explained. "He's a leader of men. He's the boss and people do his bidding. And that, for some reason, was difficult for me to imagine. I'm more comfortable playing the guy who's the drifter, the free plains crazy man. But I had an incredible experience and I just trusted in (director) Pete (Jackson) to lead me to the promised land."