Jaafar Jackson’s feet bled from being intensely committed to playing his uncle Michael Jackson.
Amid Jafaar, 29, being “unsure” about acting, other actors were lined up to play the late King of Pop in Michael — the biopic that charts the music legend’s career from The Jackson 5 to his solo career.
But Michael’s nephew ultimately bagged the role following encouragement from director Antoine Fuqua, 60, and Jafaar having proved himself by staying in Thriller hitmaker mode when Fuqua unexpectedly asked him a question during a test.
Fuqua worked with cinematographer Bob Richardson, 70, on Equalizer 3 when he showed Fuqua a shot of himself with Jaafar on the set of Michael — also starring Juliano Valdi (young Michael), Colman Domingo (Joe Jackson), and Nia Long (Katherine Jackson).
Fuqua recalled to Deadline: “When I saw the photo, I was blown away, but that’s a photo.
“When I came back from Italy, we set up a whole make-up and camera test. There were others as well in the mix. But when I came back, [producer] Graham [King] met Jaafar before me.
“When I got back, I had breakfast with Jaafar, and I could see how gentle and elegant he was, just a kind of person, you could see the DNA of Michael.
“I wasn’t sure if he was auditioning. Then I spent time with him, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be an actor. But I know this was something; if he was going to do it, he was going to go all in.”
The filmmaker continued: “Graham had him take some acting lessons. When I got involved on the set, and he was dancing, I threw a question at Jaafar that he didn’t know was coming.
“I was rolling, and I asked him a question like he was Michael. The room stopped, it was almost spiritual: He answered my question as if he was Michael.”
Fuqua revealed that Jafaar’s “powerful” portrayal of his “quiet, sweet guy” uncle — who died in June 2009 aged 50 — triggered floods of tears amongst “half of the crew”, adding: “I thought he could do it.
“Because he didn’t know I was going to ask him that question, and he didn’t know that I was rolling. I wanted to see if he could stay in the moment and be Michael.”
Jafaar’s feet bled because he would not stop dancing and acting until he struck perfection.
Fuqua remembered: “Then there’s the whole idea, can he do it in front of a whole cast and crew. I went over to Havenhurst, where he was living, rehearsing, and practicing.
“The walls were covered in Michael, but with detailed graphs, it was like A Beautiful Mind. So, he’s in it, but can he do it the day of?
“We started with Bad with a big show on the Sony lot with a 1,000 extras and lights, a big show. Here ya go, kid, throw you into the fire. And he blew my mind.
“I watched him do it over and over again with the dance moves, until his feet were bleeding, but also the acting routine.”
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