NEW YORK —

The hero of the animated “Kung Fu Panda 2” is a panda named Po — but he may as well be called “Jack Black and White” since there is no mistaking the distinctive sensibility of the comic actor whose rapid-fire yet casually offhand riffs have added hey-dude humor to such films as “High Fidelity” and “Tropic Thunder,” and carried such starring vehicles as “Shallow Hal” and “The School of Rock.”

Black, 41, born in Santa Monica, Calif., and raised in Hermosa Beach, began his career at 13, in TV commercials for such products as the Atari video game Pitfall. Roles in the TV-movie “Our Shining Moment” (1991) and Tim Robbins’ political satire “Bob Roberts” (1992) led to steady bit-part and character work until his breakthrough as John Cusack’s wild record-store employee in “High Fidelity” (2000). He’s also found success with his and Kyle Glass’ rock duo Tenacious D.

Black spoke with Newsday by phone from the Cannes Film Festival.

Q. Animation directors do recording sessions in different ways. Usually actors all record separately, but not always. How did it work for you here?

A. The only thing I did with another actor was the scene when I first meet (the antagonist) Shen, the albino peacock. Me and Gary Oldman did bust that out together because they were unable to get the magic with us separately.

Q. Why, do you think?

A. I don’t know. There was just something about the intensity of the scene where we meet and we’re kind of laughing at each other and slowly ramping it up. It needed to happen live.

Q. Did the director, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, ever say, as they sometimes do with animation, “OK, we got the script version, you want to improv anything?”

A. No, she never gave me the go-ahead like that, but sometimes I would just take it. Sometimes I would just say, “Hey, wait, let me do one more,” and then I would surprise them with a riff.

Q. Any particular one you’d like to share?

A. I can’t remember off the top of my head, and I’m not even sure if they used them. All I know is that I always throw in my own take on certain scenes.

Q. In the first “Kung Fu Panda,” Po dreams of joining the movie’s team of heroes. Now, here, he’s a member, he can hold his own, but he’s also the one who clowns around and makes the others laugh. Anything you can personally relate to there?

A. All through my 20s I was very much like Po, just sort of struggling to get by and not really being one of the comedic actors who were established. I didn’t really have a consistent moneymaking career, like I can get my own apartment, until I was, like, 30 years old. Before that I would get parts here and there and I would go get an apartment and live there for a while, and then I would run out of money and go back and live with my mom. So, yeah, when I’m trying to get in the Po mode, I think back on those times, to my humble days when I was in awe of the comedy gods.

Q. And those would be … ?

A. Obviously John Belushi, he was a big influence on me, but also later on, Chris Farley. Those are obvious ones, just because we portly comedians got to stick together. But I’m also a huge fan of Jim Carrey and his style. It’s not really about the subtlety so much as it is about going to the absolute limit.

Q. “Tropic Thunder” — is the sequel going to happen?

A. Don’t think so. I have not heard anything about (the proposed) “Arctic Lightning.”