Pluribus' Karolina Wydra Kicked Off Her Career In An Underrated Jack Black Movie

The hit Vince Gilligan Apple TV sci-fi series "Pluribus" features only a handful of main characters, allowing each actor to have a significant role in the incredible story. Karolina Wydra is excellent as Zosia, who serves as protagonist Carol's (Rhea Seehorn) joined extraterrestrial handler, where she even does some of her own stunts. Before "Pluribis," she's also been in some other great television projects, too! Fans might recognize her as the villainous vampire Violet from the last two seasons of HBO's "True Blood," or as Dr. House's (Hugh Laurie) wife in the final season of the medical procedural "House," but the talented performer's acting debut was actually in an underappreciated Jack Black movie: "Be Kind Rewind." 

"Be Kind Rewind" was written and directed by "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" helmer Michael Gondry, and follows video rental store clerk Mike (Mos Def) and his best friend Jerry (Jack Black) after Jerry's conspiracy theory gadgets accidentally erase all of the store's VHS tapes, leading to the two of them creating their own sweded versions of the movies and renting them to locals. One of those locals is Gabrielle Bochenski, played by Wydra, and while she doesn't get a tremendous amount to do because there's such a giant cast, it is a lot of fun seeing her when she was just getting her start. 

While Karolina Wydra unfortunately isn't in "Be Kind Rewind" all that much, it's still a great little film worthy of your time. There's so much love for the movies that these characters are sweding, as well as love for the act of making movies. The duo attempts to make their own versions of everything from "Ghostbusters" to "Driving Miss Daisy," and it's immensely charming. "Be Kind Rewind" is a reminder of the magic of video stores, where people used to come together to talk about the latest rentals and find something new and fun to watch (even if it turned out to be Jack Black in drag pretending to be an old woman, in this case). It's actually one of Black's best films because it has so much stinking heart, even if there are a few questionable choices in the guys' swede remakes. It's nothing as egregious as the blackface in the banned "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" episodes spoofing "Lethal Weapon," but it gets pretty close. Good thing Jack Black is playing kind of an idiot, right? 

"Pluribus" fans might be more interested in Gondry's brain-melting sci-fi like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," but "Be Kind Rewind" is worth checking out for Wydra, a great Mos Def performance, and so much stinking heart. Seriously, this movie is like a big cinematic hug.