In 'Kung Fu Panda', Po is an overweight slob of a panda bear who helps out with the family noodle business whilst secretly dreaming of becoming a kung fu master.

Jack Black is Po. It is difficult to imagine a more perfect match.

How much of Jack Black is there in this character?

Jack Black: There's a lot of me in there, I can relate to a lot of Po's dreaming of being a kung fun master and being world famous. I had dreams similar to that when I was a kid, you know, wanting to be a comedian and actor and his insecurities and you know, not having the right body for kung fu, I've had my issues too so yeah I think it was tailor-made for me.

Did anyone ever tell you Jack, that you couldn't do what you wanted to do, because that's part of the theme of this film?

Jack Black: Actually my parents were very supportive, they never told me that it was a pipe dream to do what I wanted to do but when you look around at the other people who are in the industry, it's just a very looks driven thing for the most part so it can make you insecure if you're measuring yourself up against the other, you know, hunks of the trade.

Was this fun to do? I mean they look fun, we all have fun when we see them but are they fun to do?

Jack Black: They are yeah. I had tremendous fun making this and you gotta understand it's spread out pretty thinly over many years, like three or four years been working on this and I just go in once a month and do a few hours of voice work, so it never felt like: "Oh man this is a lot of work, this is hard work." Ah, it's very easy in terms of just going in and doing the job is always a joy.

Usually these things are done and you guys are in isolation but I believe you actually got to work with Dustin.

Jack Black: I did.

Did you request that?

Jack Black: No, I would have been too nervous to say: "I demand to work with Dustin Hoffman." I wouldn't presume to control his schedule but I was thrilled that it worked out because he's been a hero of mine. He is the master, the true master of acting.

So, when that happened did you have to strictly stick rigidly to the script or were you able to improvise a little bit?

Jack Black: We were always encouraged to improvise but you know, always get what's on the page first and, and we remained faithful to the text and he had some good tips for me. There was this one line, I can't remember which one but it was like I think he took me aside and was like: "I think that one line might be better if you just whisper it " and I was like: "Okay, yeah I'll try that" and it felt really good. Yeah so it was cool to share the spotlight with him for a moment.

Are you a fan of kung fu movies, of the genre?

Jack Black: Yeah.

And do you think this honours kung fu movies?

Jack Black: Oh definitely. Yeah. When I was a kid I loved Bruce Lee along with everybody else and Jackie Chan and I loved 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' a lot. But my favourite was Steven Chow who has a couple of films that really blew my mind, 'Shaolin Soccer' is just incredibly funny and entertaining action sequences. And I think and hope that we've captured a lot of that spirit and magic of kung fu films at their best.

And pandas at their best as well.

Jack Black: Indeed.

Are we a fan of pandas, I mean who isn't really?

Jack Black: Yeah. There's something, you know. They are the physical embodiment of the yin and yang symbol. Their white and black coats, they're very beautiful to behold.

Is the finished film, like this, is it a surprise to you 'cos it is, you said it takes a long time to, for it to come into fruition.

Jack Black: Well no, when you're working on something that long you know, you have a pretty good idea of what it's gonna be when it's done. But even having worked on it so long I was still blown away by the execution of it 'cos when you see it, I mean, some of the sequences are just stunning. Those fight sequences are so beautifully choreographed I could just watch them again and again. I can tell this is one of those that I'm gonna have the DVD player and just have to click back and watch certain fight sequences over and over.

Did you know the rest of the cast, did you know Angelina?

Jack Black: I had worked with Angelina on a previous animated feature actually, 'Shark Tale'. And Seth Rogen I know personally, he's great and he really jumps out of the screen as the grasshopper, he's very funny at bringing the mantis actually. And yeah everyone was great. David Cross I know from my old days in comedy, 'Mr Show'. Excellent, he plays crane and Ian McShane I've never met but as a huge fan of his from like that movie 'Sexy Beast'. He had a small role but very powerful performance. And I was thrilled when we got him to play Tai Lung, the super villain, this beast. He brings a real class to it and a chilling calmness.