Jaafar Jackson Recounts One ‘Crazy’ Moment Recreating MJ's Iconic Dance Moments for 'Michael'

Jaafar Jackson, a 29-year-old emerging actor, has been in the news a lot lately. Stepping into the iconic role of his late uncle, the King of Pop Michael Jackson, for the upcoming biopic Michael, Jaafar is certainly making a name for himself. His father is Jermaine Jackson, a member of the legendary group The Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons).

Promoting the Antoine Fuqua-directed film, Jaafar appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. During his media rounds, he discussed various aspects of the project, including his experience recreating the iconic 1983 horror music video, Thriller.

Jaafar Jackson Talks Recreating "Thriller" Video

The film's recreated video was shot for two consecutive nights at the original location: Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in Los Angeles, according to Jaafar.

“We actaully had a full moon on one of those nights which was crazy,” Jaafar recalled. “We had a full moon and it was cold. I know he [Michael Jackson] shot during the summer but just being at that location, seeing the zombies around me; I mean that was one of my favorite videos besides Smooth Criminal. To be at the real location was incredible. It really was.”

Michael Jackson's 1982 album, Thriller, is widely recognized as the best-selling album of all time. With over 128 million copies sold to date, according to ChartMasters, the title track, "Thriller," was a massive hit.

The intensity for the movie was established on the very first day of filming, according to Jaafar, when he shot a performance related to MJ's seventh studio album, Bad.

“They threw me right in the deep end,” Jaafar admitted. “We did all of the performances the first two weeks of shooting.”

Next, he discussed the idea of recreating Michael Jackson's legendary 1983 debut of the "moonwalk" during his performance of "Billie Jean" for the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special.

“I had incredible guidance from Rich and Tone who were Michael’s actual choreographers that he had on tour during the HIStory tour” Jaafar explained. 

“We broke down frame by frame the Billie Jean performance from Motown 25 and that was the first set of choreography I started to learn throughout the process and I had 20 days to kind of prove to them and the filmmakers that I can pull it off within those 20 days, even though in my mind I was like, ‘20 days? How can I do that? I need a lot more time.’”

Despite his initial doubt and the immense difficulty, Jaafar succeeded in capturing the true essence of Michael Jackson.

What Is Michael About?

Michael will be released in theaters on April 24.

“The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond the music, tracing his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world,” the film synopsis says. 

“Highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career, the film gives audiences a front-row seat to Michael Jackson as never before.”