Jaafar Jackson recently stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss stepping into the legendary shoes of his uncle, Michael Jackson, in the highly anticipated biopic Michael. The rising star shared that long before landing the role, he had already been studying the King of Pop’s iconic choreography.
Jackson revealed that one of the first challenges he faced was mastering Michael’s unforgettable “Billie Jean” performance from the 1983 Motown 25 special. With guidance from Michael’s former choreographers, Rich and Tone, Jaafar studied the routine frame by frame and had just 20 days to prove he could bring the moment to life on screen.
Although he grew up admiring his uncle’s music videos and occasionally mimicking the moves in front of the television, Jackson admitted he never initially imagined portraying Michael in a film. In fact, when he first learned that producer Graham King best known for the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody had secured the rights to tell Michael Jackson’s story, his immediate thought was simply curiosity about who would be cast in the role.
Months later, that curiosity turned into reality when King reached out for a meeting. What followed was an extensive, multi-year process that included acting coaching and rigorous preparation before Jackson officially earned the role.
The experience of transforming into Michael each day was both surreal and emotional. After hours in the makeup chair with award-winning makeup artist Bill Corso, Jackson said seeing the physical transformation in the mirror felt almost spiritual.
Production quickly threw him into the deep end. On the very first day of filming, Jackson performed choreography from the Bad tour, with the film’s major performance sequences shot during the first two weeks of production.
One of the most unforgettable moments came when the production recreated Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” sequence in the exact location where the original 1983 music video was filmed. The scene was shot over two nights, and in a moment that felt like pure Michael Jackson magic, a full moon appeared during filming. Surrounded by dancers dressed as zombies and standing on the same ground where the legendary video was created, Jackson said the experience was nothing short of incredible.
Michael arrives in theaters and IMAX on April 24. See more inside…
(Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC)
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