By Shay Moser
Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther are some of Michael B. Jordan’s best movies. Imagine if these films hadn’t cast him. That could have happened had he not gotten his start as a child model for Toys “R” Us. However, he broke into the industry as a model, moved into the acting world, and he’s been thriving. Now, he’s a producer and making his directorial debut in Creed III, coming out in 2023.
Although Jordan didn’t think he was an attractive kid at age 11, a receptionist at the doctor’s office believed he was cute enough to try modeling. “I figured it was a cool way to make some extra dollars and get out of school early,” the 35-year-old told Backstage Magazine. Small modeling parts led to bigger ones, resulting in a notable effect.
Jordan’s first official acting roles in 1999 were in a single episode of Cosby and The Sopranos. His first significant film role followed in 2001 when he was featured in Hardball, starring Keanu Reeves.
Television roles between 2002 and 2011 included Wallace in the first season of the HBO crime drama series The Wire, Reggie Montgomery on the ABC soap opera All My Children, and Vince Howard in the NBC sports drama series Friday Night Lights. He also landed guest starring appearances, independent film roles, and spots in music videos.
“I was everybody’s little brother, and I got to learn from Idris Elba, Dominic West, Michael K. Williams, Wendell Pearce, Wood Harris … the list goes on,” he told The Guardian about his experience on The Wire. “There were so many phenomenal actors there, and I picked up tools from them that I still use daily on set.”
While these early television roles were the start of his success today, Jordan almost gave up on his acting career when he first moved to Los Angeles because he had difficulty finding someone to represent him.
“I remember when I first came to L.A., and my mom and I went to all these agencies trying to get representation, and they passed on me,” he said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Jordan’s film performances between 2012 and 2019 include Red Tails, Chronicle, That Awkward Moment, Fantastic Four, Just Mercy, and Parenthood.
But the role that catapulted Jordan into superstardom was in 2013 when he starred as shooting victim Oscar Grant in Fruitvale Station. His performance garnered critical acclaim, including being named an “actor to watch” by People and Variety. In addition, Time magazine named him one of 30 people under 30 who are changing the world, and he was also named one of 2013’s breakout stars by Entertainment Weekly and GQ.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy role to play,” he told The New York Times. “But I saw a lot of similarities to myself.”
In 2015, Jordan starred in Fantastic Four, which was a bust at the box office. However, his next big break at the box office came in 2015 when he starred as Donnie Creed, the son of boxer Apollo Creed in the seventh Rocky film, Creed.
Jordan prepared for his role as a boxer in Creed by undertaking a year of rigorous physical training and a stringent low-fat diet. “I felt muscles I never knew I had,” Jordan told Men’s Journal.
Since the Creed role, a few of Jordan’s other starring parts, such as in the Black Panther, No Remorse, and Creed II, have required him to stay in excellent shape. As a result, he’s stuck to a workout and diet routine that helps him portray a boxer, an elite Navy SEAL, and a supervillain, respectively.
To prepare for Black Panther, Jordan’s trainer had him lift heavy weights twice daily, including bench presses, lat pulldowns, and deadlifts. Additionally, he did aquatic fitness routines for No Remorse. Workouts for Creed focused on cardio, such as boxing. Jordan drank a gallon of water daily and ate five to six small, clean, carb-heavy meals a day.
“It’s hard to go out to a club or a party when you’re like, ‘Oh, wait! Meal prep! We gotta go pop this thing in the microwave and eat food.’ It’s tough to socialize when you gotta get in shape like that,” the 35-year-old Jordan said on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Jordan may have even less time to socialize with his additional title as executive producer. After launching the production company Outlier Productions in 2019, he co-produced the animated series Gen:Lock and the legal drama Just Mercy. Also, his production company signed a deal with Amazon and is developing Val-Zod, an HBO Max series featuring a Black version of the DC Comics character Superman.
“I’ve passed on a lot because I can’t play every black historical figure. There are other amazing, talented actors out there that should have opportunities for those,” he told Men’s Health. “One of the reasons [I started] the production company was I wanted to be able to open up the doors for other people that haven’t had those shots, that maybe couldn’t see the pathway or the move to carve out their piece.”
Jordan is ready to make his directorial debut with Creed III, which includes boxing champion Canelo Alvarez, in addition to producing and repeating his starring role as boxer Donnie Creed, set to release in March 2023.
“Directing has always been an aspiration, but the timing had to be right,” Jordan said in an interview with Variety. “Creed III is that moment — a time in my life where I’ve grown more sure of who I am, holding agency in my own story, maturing personally, growing professionally, and learning from the greats like Ryan Coogler, most recently Denzel Washington, and other top tier directors I respect. All of which sets the table for this moment.”
Jordan is producing and starring in the sequel of I Am Legend with Will Smith. There’s no official release date yet.
In the meantime, Jordan has been settling into the $12.5 million brand-new mansion in L.A.’s Encino community that he bought in May.
