Jaafar Jackson on three years as Michael and the future of the biopic
In an interview with GQ Middle East
Thirty-year-old Jaafar Jackson, nephew of the «King of Pop» Michael Jackson and the star of the singer’s biopic, is the cover star of the latest issue of GQ Middle East.
In the interview, the actor opened up about the three years he spent embodying his famous uncle and candidly admitted that the experience significantly changed the way he views his own music career.
According to Jaafar, preparing for the role was far from easy. He tried to understand Michael as deeply as possible, with the singer’s personal writings playing a particularly important role in that process. Jaafar had access to Jackson’s diaries, which helped him see the legendary performer not only as a global superstar, but as a person with dreams, doubts and a very direct outlook on life.
«Many of those entries were written almost through the eyes of a child — very adventurous, naive and inspired», the actor said.
One particular note stayed with Jaafar. It read: «As soon as I step outside, I want 10,000 people to freeze in place and just look at me».
The three years he spent portraying the legendary musician also had an impact on Jackson himself. The actor admitted that working on the biopic even changed his attitude toward his own musical ambitions.
Jaafar is a musician himself, but he confessed that after the experience of working on the biopic, it has become difficult for him to imagine performing onstage in the same way under his own name.
«I got the best I could possibly get as an artist onstage — as Michael. Doing the same thing as Jaafar would just be strange», he said.
The actor also reflected on a possible sequel to the biopic. He hopes the second installment will allow audiences to see the events more clearly from Michael Jackson’s perspective.
In his view, this is particularly important given the numerous allegations that have surrounded the musician’s name for decades.
«I think the second film will give even more understanding from his point of view, because ultimately all the allegations always came from someone else. It’s someone else’s story, someone else’s idea of what happened, largely dictated by a certain agenda. And Michael’s voice was not heard», the artist said.
At the same time, Jaafar is not revealing any specific details about the future script. All that is currently known is that production on the sequel is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027. There is no confirmed release date yet.
Photo: gqmiddleeast.com
