Jaafar Jackson has declared playing his late uncle Michael Jackson was his "calling".
The 29-year-old star hard to work hard to "earn the role" of the Thriller hitmaker in upcoming biopic Michael and admitted he had never even thought about an acting career until the project came along.
In a new behind-the-scenes video for the movie, Jaafar - who is the son of Michael's older brother Jermaine Jackson - said: "I never dreamed to be an actor or even thought of playing him. But I knew it was a calling.
"Embodying Michael, I really had to earn the role and prove to the filmmakers that I was capable of becoming Michael. Essentially it was starting at the roots and finding the authenticity."
Jaafar praised the "love for Michael" - who died in 2009 aged 50 - that surrounded the project.
He said: "I felt that love for Michael every day on set from the crew and the cast. Everybody had that love and wanted to put their heart and soul into it."
Producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua couldn't be happier with their lead actor's performance.
Graham said in the clip: "Going through this process of who can play Michael, how do you even start with that? And then, of course, I meet Jaafar Jackson."
Antoine added: "Day one, all I could think of was, 'Can Jaafar really pull this off?' Man, when the music started and he hit those first few moves, I mean, this guy killed it. I looked at Graham and Graham looked at me, I was like, 'Who is this guy?!'
"He has the desire — like Michael — to be the best."
M?ichael follows Michael Jackson’s journey from The Jackson 5 to record-breaking solo stardom, driven by perfectionism, family pressure and artistic genius.
The biopic traces the making of music history while examining the personal battles behind the legend.
The film also stars Miles Teller as Jackson’s longtime attorney and advisor John Branca, Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Jackson’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, and Larenz Tate as the founder of Motown Records, Berry Gordy.
Meanwhile, Laura Harrier plays Suzanne de Passe, a pioneering female music executive, alongside Kat Graham’s Diana Ross and Kendrick Sampson’s Quincy Jones, who produced Jackson’s three most successful albums: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987).
Michael was initially due to release on October 3, 2025, but was pushed back to April 2026.
Although principal photography for Michael wrapped in May 2024, reshoots were ordered and the script - written by John Logan - was reworked.
In November, Lionsgate boss Adam Fogelson promised there will be "more Michael soon".
Speaking with analysts after releasing Lionsgate’s second quarter financial results, the chair of the studio’s Motion Picture Group said: “While we’re not yet ready to confirm plans for a second film, I can tell you that the creative team is hard at work making sure that we’re in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film.”
Although Fogelson admitted the third act for Michael needed reworking - due to its depiction of a Jackson molestation accuser, who was previously guaranteed by the singer’s estate that he would never feature in a dramatisation of his story - the Lionsgate head called director Antoine's work “exceptional”.
He said: “Since the last time we were together on an earnings call, we have now had the great pleasure of seeing the director’s cut of the first film, and it is exceptional.”
