Jaafar Jackson has opened up about playing Michael Jackson in the upcoming movie, Michael. The movie is set to be released worldwide on Friday, April 24.

Jaafar Jackson is the nephew of Michael Jackson. He was born to one of Michael’s brothers, Jermaine Jackson, and Alejandra. The couple was married from 1995 to 2003, and Jaafar was born on July 25, 1996.

The 29-year-old will now be portraying his iconic uncle in the upcoming movie. In an interview with Pop Base, published on April 8, Jaafar was asked about his preparation for the role of Michael Jackson. He said:

“So many different things. It started really with collecting as much footage as I could of Michael, as much audio I could find of him speaking in interviews, or, really, for me, I went to find the moments that he wasn’t aware he was on camera.”

“To really get those, uh, really, you know, candid moments, where how he would behave, how he would speak, or even him eating little, nuanced things I tried to find as much as I could, uh, and really bounce that with the performances, and really, uh, immerse myself in watching it completely over and over again, until it was just innate in my mind.”

Jaafar Jackson further praised the script and his co-actors, along with the energy on the set, adding:

“And then I kind of put that away, and just allowed myself to be informed by the script and explore new things, and I had incredible coaches. I was surrounded by, and also to be able to put that into action once I was on set, and to bounce off of Colman [Domingo], and Nia [Long] was incredible. That energy on the set was a learning experience every single day.”

The movie also stars Katherine, Kat Graham, Miles Teller, and Diana Ross, among others.

Also Read: Michael (2026) final trailer shows Jaafar Jackson trying to fully embody his uncle

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Jaafar Jackson didn’t tell his mother he was playing Michael Jackson for a year

In a conversation with Miles Teller for the Interview magazine, Jaafar Jackson revealed that he didn’t tell his mother about his role in Michael for a year. He told her about the movie, and she also visited the sets at times, but she didn’t know that he was playing Michael Jackson.

Jaafar said:

“She came to set one time, but she wasn’t aware of what to expect. Even in the process of preparing for it, I didn’t tell her for a full year.”

Teller asked:

“What do you mean? When you booked it, you didn’t tell her?”

Jaafar replied:

“No. No one in my family knew for a full year. I kept it pretty quiet until I felt comfortable enough to share it. But when my mom saw it on-screen, it blew her away. It was hard for her to connect it to me, so it was very emotional for her.”

Jaafar Jackson said that his mother, Alejandra, only got to know that he was playing Michael Jackson after watching the movie. He added that his father and Michael’s brother, Jermaine, hadn’t seen it at the time of the interview.

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