'Celebrity Escape Room': Jack Black, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow among NBC special's star cast for Red Nose Day
Is there any other way to deal with a global shutdown but comedy? Of course, there is immediate crisis control, damage control, and better health and safety response, but comedy helps you cope in the meanwhile.
Jack Black and Ben Stiller are bringing some of the most popular faces in comedy for a Red Nose Day special for NBC. 'Celebrity Escape Room' will see Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Adam Scott alongside Ben Stiller - with Jack Black playing the game master - coming together to raise awareness and money to end child poverty.
Combining the drama and tension of a real-life video game "with the side-splitting allure of the ultimate party game", 'Celebrity Escape Room' puts your favourite celebrities in a room. The group must find clues, decipher the meaning behind even the smallest of items and brainstorm their escape - all just within the allotted time limit. If they don't succeed, they fail.
The group is allowed to ask the Game Master for only three clues and each room that they successfully escape raises more money.
'Celebrity Escape Room' will air on Thursday, May 21, 2020, at 8 pm ET/PT on NBC. Following which, Red Nose Day and the annual two-hour variety special/telethon programming block to end child poverty will begin. But before the television event begins, meet the cast here.
Jack Black as Game Master
Jack Black will be playing the Game Master on the special event and of the trailer clip for the episode is any indication, he is going to bring his signature energy and wit to the table. He also serves as executive producer on the project.
The actor is best known for his roles on 'High Fidelity', 'School of Rock', 'Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny', 'The Holiday', 'Bernie', 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle', 'Jumanji: The Next Level', and for voicing the title role in the 'Kung Fu Panda' franchise. He was inducted into Hollywood's Walk of Fame in 2018. For his work in 'School of Rock' and 'Bernie', Jack earned himself Golden Globe nominations.
He is the lead singer and guitarist for the comedy rock/ hard rock band Tenacious D along with Kyle Gass. As a member of Tenacious D, he won the award for Best Metal Performance at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2017.
Ben Stiller
'Zoolander' and 'Night at the Museum' star Ben Stiller will be playing one of the members of the group that has to escape the room in order to raise money for Red Nose Day. The actor, alongside Jack, serves as the executive producer for the special event. The actor hardly requires any introduction. He is known for his work on 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty', 'The Cable Guy', 'There's Something About Mary', 'Meet the Parents' trilogy, 'DodgeBall', and the 'Madagascar' series.
In 2010, the actor was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Four years later in June 2014, Stiller was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He declared himself cancer-free in the September of that year. He recently lost his father Jerry Stiller on May 11, 2020, from natural causes at his home just a month short of the Seinfield actor's 93rd birthday.
Lisa Kudrow
Kudrow's best work till date is her role of Phoebe Buffay in 'Friends', for which she earned herself Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. For the same role, she received six nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1998 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. So versatile is Kudrow that she also received twelve nominations and two wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as one win and eight nominations at the American Comedy Awards.
Kudrow is currently awaiting the release of Netflix's 'Space Force' alongside Steve Carell and 'Friends' reunion special 'The One Where They Got Back Together' on HBO Max.
Considering that this 'Celebrity Escape Room' has her 'Friends' co-star Courteney and Stiller (who had played the role of Tommy, a guy that Jennifer Aniston's Rachel Green dates), it could be a mini-reunion.
Courteney Cox
Cox's most noted work is as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom 'Friends' alongside Jennifer Aniston, Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. The actress is also known for her performance of Jules Cobb in 'Cougar Town' - a role for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination.
She is, like Kudrow, also currently awaiting the release of 'The One Where They Got Back Together' on HBO.
Adam Scott
Scott won the hearts of the audience with his role of Ben Wyatt in NBC's 'Parks and Recreation' - a performance for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in 2013. The actor has appeared on 'Step Brothers', 'The Aviator', 'Party Down'. He has recently played the role of Adam Yates Jr on 'Big Little Lies' and Trevor on 'The Good Place'.
During the recent 'Parks and Recreation' reunion, fans expressed concerns over his health as he looked very "gaunt". Many added that they were worried since his cheekbones were visible. Either way, Scott has not offered any explanation for the weight loss. He, unfortunately, lost his mother on March 5, 2020, from ALS. He had opened up about the death only recently when he shared an image on Instagram.
Here's a sneak peek into the special: