From Creed to Killmonger, Michael’s been part of some of entertainment’s
most beloved franchises, and his meteoric rise to the top began in
Michael B. Jordan was born on February 9, 1987, in Santa Ana, California,
and in case you were wondering, no, he wasn’t named after the basketball player, and
His mother Donna, a high school guidance counsellor, and father Michael A. Jordan,
a Marine veteran turned caterer, moved Michael and his two siblings to Newark, New Jersey,
when he was two years old, where they encouraged the future star to find his talents
through extracurricular activities like tap dancing.
When Michael was twelve, he made his on-screen debut in a 1999 episode of ‘Cosby,’
followed by a bit part in ‘The Sopranos’ as a bully who terrorized young Tony.
'Hey, what you doing, where you spittin'?' 'What do you mean? I ain't doing nothing.'
'Yes you did, you threw that wrapper on the floor.' 'Pick it up!'
'Leave me alone!'
Michael appeared in his first movie two years later, acting opposite Keanu Reeves in the baseball drama
‘Hardball,’ but it was on the small screen where he continued to perfect his craft,
including a role in a legendary TV series that put him
When Michael auditioned for David Simon’s ‘The Wire,’ he was originally hoping to play Bodie,
but the casting director felt the 16-year-old was too old for the part.
'I just don't wanna play, I just don't want to play no more, alright.'
I was thinking about going to school, over at Edmondson.
I'll ask if they'll let me back in at the end of the semester.'
Much to his shock, Michael only found out about Wallace’s demise a week before the shoot,
and his reaction wasn’t all that different from D’Angelo Barksdale’s:
'Look at me, look at me. Where the f*ck is Wallace, huh ?'
After ‘The Wire,’ Michael landed the role of Reggie Montgomery on the soap opera
‘All My Children,’ although he wasn’t the first actor to play the role.
but after two years, Jordan left the show to explore different kinds of drama:
‘Friday Night Lights,’ where he starred as quarterback Vince Howard in the shows final seasons,
and ‘Parenthood,’ a 2010 reboot of the same show that was a big break
for Leonardo DiCaprio in the’ 90s.
Michael had become a familiar face to TV fans, but it was the big screen where he finally hit
In 2012, Michael co-starred in ‘Chronicle,’ a found footage superhero movie
that gave the young actor his first taste of comic book glory.
He was considered for the role of Harry Osborn in Sony’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ series,
but after losing out on the part, he made a far bigger splash by starring in ‘Fruitvale Station.’
The film centers around the last day in the life of Oscar Grant,
a real life victim of a 2009 police shooting in Oakland.
More importantly, it introduced the actor to Ryan Coogler, the director of two films
that elevated Jordan from an ‘I know that guy’ to bona fide mega star.
Before that, though, Jordan reunited with his ‘Chronicle’ collaborator Josh Trank
to play Johnny Story his ill-fated ‘Fantastic Four’ movie.
The box-office bomb didn’t hurt Michael too badly, because the same year, he starred in ‘Creed,’
Ryan Coogler’s brilliant soft reboot of the ‘Rocky’ franchise.
"I've been fighting my whole life. I ain't got a choice.'
To play Adonis Creed, the troubled son of Rocky’s rival who struggles with his father’s legacy,
Michael had to gain 24 pounds of muscle. And since he didn’t have a body double,
With his badass new bod, it was only a matter of time
before Jordan returned to the world of superheroes, only this time,
Playing the ruthless mercenary Erik Killmonger, Jordan challenged Wakanda’s ancient traditions
and forced T’Challa to answer for injustices faced by Black people around the world.
'We're warriors. The world is gonna start over, and this time, we're on top!'
As Killmonger, Michael’s skin was covered in ritual scars,
which required 90 separate prosthetics to apply, and a two-hour soak in a sauna to remove.
Killmonger’s look was completed with a blue costume that bore a suspicious resemblance
to Vegeta’s armor from ‘Dragon Ball Z,’ which probably wasn’t a coincidence,
considering that Jordan is a massive, outspoken anime fan.
And thanks to his spectacular success, I’m sure he’s got a sizable collection at his new house in Los Angeles,
which he currently shares with parents, so he can be closer to his mother as she battles with Lupus.
Jordan is doing his best to give back to Hollywood, too,
in 2016 he formed his own company called Outlier Productions, and
From his origins in sitcoms and soaps, to changing the game with ‘Creed’ and Killmonger,