Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar to play him in 'Michael'

The biopic "Michael," which tells the story of Michael Jackson's rise to fame, has put a spotlight on the King of Pop's real-life nephew,  Jaafar Jackson, who takes on the iconic role. The film traces Michael’s journey from his early days with The Jackson 5 to global stardom.

Jaafar, the son of Michael's brother Jermaine, and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, recently opened up about his unexpected casting during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Friday, April 3. 

Speaking with Fallon, he shared how the opportunity came his way. “I saw an article saying that Graham King got the rights to tell Michael’s story,” Jaafar recalled.

Knowing King’s background, including producing the biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," Jaafar, 29, assumed the role would go to someone else. “My first thought was, who are they going to get to play Michael? I didn’t think of myself.”

However, a few months later, “I got a call from Graham King. He wanted to have a Zoom, and I could tell from that call where it might lead,” he exclaimed.

“He asked me if I had ever acted before. I said, ‘Never. I’ve never wanted to be an actor.’” At the time, Jaafar said he was more interested in golf and singing than acting.

Still, the process moved forward. What followed was not a typical audition, but a long and demanding journey. Jaafar explained, “He got me a coach, and I started working on a lot of scenes. It was a multi-year process. It wasn’t a traditional audition—I had to earn the role over two years.”

He later confirmed, “I got the part, and I had more time to really hone the details once I knew I had it.”

He also shared that one of the most surreal parts of the experience came during filming, especially when he fully transformed into his uncle. “Spending all those hours in the makeup chair… seeing myself slowly transform into Michael was emotional.”

Jaafar also described the moment as "spiritual," particularly on the first day of shooting. As Michael’s nephew, Jaafar said he was immediately thrown into one of the most demanding scenes, a performance from the "Bad" era. “They threw me right in the deep end,” he said, noting that many of the performance scenes were filmed within the first two weeks.

To prepare, Jaafar trained closely with Michael’s former choreographers, Rich and Tone Talauega. “We broke down the 'Billie Jean' performance from 'Motown 25' frame by frame, and that was the first choreography I learned,” he said.

“I had 20 days to prove I could pull it off. In my mind, I kept thinking, ‘20 days? I need a lot more time,’” he admitted, recalling his early doubts.

Fallon praised his performance, especially in comparison to the original footage. Jaafar also shared that he recreated the iconic “Thriller” video in the exact same location where Michael filmed it decades earlier, adding that “being in the real location was incredible.”