Jaafar Jackson has revealed his hopes for Michael, the new biopic movie.
Jaafar Jackson hopes Michael will help fans to see Michael Jackson from a new “point of view”.
The chart-topping music icon passed away in June 2009, aged 50, and Jaafar – who plays Michael, his uncle, in the new biopic – hopes the movie will change some opinions.
He told Interview magazine: “I’m most excited about people getting to understand Michael from a point of view they haven’t seen before, to feel the quiet moments. Because a lot of people are familiar with the iconic moments, but there’s a whole emotional layer that hasn’t ever really been seen.”
Jaafar, who had never acted before taking on the role, kept his casting secret from his family for a full year, including his mother.
He said: “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.”
To prepare for the role, Jaafar moved back into Hayvenhurst — the Jackson family home where he grew up — setting up a research room and training in the dance studio where Michael once rehearsed.
He said: “I set up Hayvenhurst, which is a family home that they lived and grew up in, and I grew up in. I lived there for 15 years. I went back there and created a research room. There was a dance room where Michael used to train. I started training there, and I slept in many different rooms in the house just to feel the energy.”
Jaafar also had access to Michael’s personal writings, which played an important role in his preparations for the film.
The actor said: “Having access to Michael’s personal writings, his journaling, his poems, his mantras and affirmations, that was a breaking point for me. I started doing the same thing, applying affirmations on walls and mirrors.”
Meanwhile, TJ Jackson – the son of Tito Jackson – previously revealed that he wanted to make a biopic that would help to reframe the “awful” sex abuse allegations that have been made since Michael’s death.
The singer told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “I think it’s awful, to be honest. I think it’s very sad.
“I think it’s in a way disgusting because what sells in this world is negativity. People like to gossip, people like scandals. My uncle is not here to defend himself, so he’s an easy target. He was always an easy target, because he was always quiet.
“But now that he’s no longer with us, there couldn’t be an easier target. Everyone knows who Michael Jackson is. So it’s an easy story to sell. But I truly believe truth always wins out.”
Jaafar Jackson hopes to change opinions of Michael Jackson
