Los Angeles, April 7 Debutant Jaafar Jackson said he kept his casting as Michael Jackson in the forthcoming biopic about the King of Pop’s life a secret from his family for a year.
The 29-year-old nephew of Michael, who died aged 50 in 2009, will make his acting debut portraying the Billie Jean singer in Michael. He discussed the experience in conversation with his co-star Miles Teller for Interview, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
Jaafar said: “(My mother) came to set one time, but she wasn’t aware of what to expect. Even in the process of preparing for it, I didn’t tell her for a full year.”
He added: “No. No one in my family knew for a full year. I kept it pretty quiet until I felt comfortable enough to share it. But 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.”
Jaafar said his mother found watching the film challenging, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
He added: “It was strange. She is very protective of me, knowing what’s to come with the attention the movie will receive. My father hasn’t seen it yet, and I can’t wait for that.
“It was a full body experience and definitely shows a side of me that my mom hasn’t seen.”
Discussing his own reaction to seeing the completed film, Jaafar said: “Going into it I tried my best to say, ‘I’m going to just try to watch without critiquing anything’. As soon as it came on, it was a completely different experience than what I thought it was going to be. It went by so fast. I was like, ‘Wait, that’s it?’ But the second time I saw it was a completely different experience.”
He added: “I was able to understand what the story is and really allow myself to enjoy what’s on the screen, rather than thinking of all the things we shot that aren’t in there. Because that was my problem the first time. I was like, ‘Where’s all that footage?’”
Jaafar is the son of Jermaine Jackson, a member of The Jackson 5, and Alejandra Jackson.
Michael is directed by Antoine Fuqua and features an ensemble cast including Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, and Kat Graham as Diana Ross, and is scheduled for release in cinemas on 24 April.