When the Michael movie released earlier this year, it broke box office records, eventually becoming the first musical biopic to gross $1 billion. And it subsequently turned Jaafar Jackson into a household name. Critics and audiences agreed that the now 30-year-old was uncanny in his portrayal of his famous uncle, Michael Jackson. Jaafar displayed the same seemingly effortless onstage swagger and performing skills as the king of pop, so when asked about his own music career, his comments about touring in real life surprised me.
While I think the Michael movie liked to let audiences believe Jaafar Jackson was destined to play this role, there actually was years of practice and prep that went into Jackson learning to dance, since, move and talk exactly like the “Thriller” performer. However, he definitely had a head start, not only from being a relative of Michael Jackson’s, but when he was approached about the role, Jackson had already begun pursuing a music career. Now that he has the fame and following to make it a reality, Jackson told GQ how playing Michael completely changed his perspective on his own artistic ambitions:
Being on stage and performing those songs with his dance, vocabulary, with his mindset… I don’t have the mindset of wanting to do that for myself because I don’t think I would be satisfied. I experienced the best I could experience as an artist on a stage as Michael. Me doing it as Jaafar would just feel weird.
Jaafar Jackson
I’ll be honest, I’m slightly surprised. I would have thought hearing the roar of 400+ people would have gotten him addicted to that lifestyle. Besides, the guy clearly has a gift for performing much like his uncle, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to recreate the magic that has spurred a renaissance of Michael Jackson mania.
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However, I do see what the actor means. His portrayal of the “Bad” singer comes with a cost: from this point on, when Jaafar Jackson steps on stage, there will most likely be an unspoken expectation for him to perform to the same standards as Michael Jackson. I think people will have a hard time separating Jaafar Jackson the Michael actor from his own artistic personality, including Jaafar Jackson himself. The now confirmed Michael sequel, which could possibly come out on the 2027 movie schedule, may only solidify this.
It’s a valid question to ask, though. For many people, including myself, Jaafar Jackson seemingly came out of nowhere with this incredible debut acting performance. But the rising star told GQ that when he met with producer Graham King, the man behind the successful Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, in 2020, he had just completed a music project of his own. Jermaine Jackson, Jaafar’s father, had prompted his son to get into music around age 13 and, similar to the King of Pop, Jaafar immediately started spending his free time in the recording studio.
Jackson has only ever released one single as of this writing, a song called “Got Me Singing” in 2019. Check out the music video below:
I totally understand what Graham King saw in him. The smooth vocal and dancing skills displayed in this music video offer a perfect foundation for building a near perfect Michael Jackson impersonation. Most of the songs in the Michael movie are actually a blend of Jaafar and Michael singing.
Perhaps Jackson thought he might eventually return to his singing career. His music career didn’t get the chance to take off, because he chose to sign on to the Michael biopic, which took years of commitment and preparation. But it seems the acting bug has bit him. The “Man in the Mirror” singer’s nephew has decided he wants to pursue more acting projects that allow him to completely transform into a character, and he has already found his acting follow-up to Michael — the Will Smith-led action thriller, Supermax.
While Jackson’s role in that film is still unknown, his comments about wanting to “completely disappear into a character” again, citing to GQ inspirations like Daniel-Day Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio, have me thinking we could see Jackson in a very sinister, chilling role for Supermax. Needless to say, I’m quite interested to see where this next career shift takes him, especially if he doesn’t plan to get on stage anytime soon.