Jaafar Jackson, the nephew of late pop star Michael Jackson , channeled his uncle’s look from his 1982 Thriller music video for a biopic, and the resemblance was uncanny. The 27-year-old singer and dancer is set to star in Antoine Fuqua’s upcoming 2025 biopic on the ‘King of Pop.’ Jaffar sported the iconic red leather jacket and matching red pants with linear black accents. He also rocked the same mullet hairstyle as Michael was known for, along with white socks and black loafers.
Jaafar Jackson speaking about his uncle Michael Jackson pic.twitter.com/mXNrS6i35I
— 𝐉𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐞 ❤ fan account (@jihye277) January 17, 2024
The young man was spotted filming the video for the film, in behind-the-scenes photos from the Los Angeles set, as per The Sun . Jaafar, the son of the late pop star’s brother Jermaine Jackson, is playing the lead in the film Michael, carrying on his uncle’s legacy on the big screen. Snaps captured in May, earlier this year, showcased his flawless transformation to recreate the nearly 14-minute-long musical horror film.
An unidentified actress playing Ola Ray (Michael’s unsuspecting date in the video) stars alongside Jaafar. The unknown star appeared equally convincing in Ray’s character from the 80s, donning the same ensemble from head to toe. As for the choreography of the song, Rita Moreno, the famous Puerto Rican singer and dancer, told PEOPLE magazine , “I love to tell the story. [Michael] told me one day that I was a huge favorite of his, [in this] tiny little voice.
View this post on Instagram
Moreno claimed Michael said, “‘I’ve always loved your dancing, and I copied some of the steps,’ and sure enough when I saw Thriller , I saw some of the steps from ‘America.'” “Oh, he loved, he loved ‘America,'” she added. “He just loved the choreography. He was influenced by [West Side Story choreographer] Jerome Robbins. Oh, very much. Very much.”
Meanwhile, director Fuqua was in awe of Jaafar’s ability to emulate his uncle and was ‘blown away’ by the resemblance. “It’s uncanny how much he’s like Michael. Sounds like him, dances like him, sings. It’s really uncanny,” as per Entertainment Weekly. “Graham King, who is a fantastic producer, found him, and introduced him to me, and I was blown away.”
View this post on Instagram
Additionally, Fuqua promised to tell the story ‘as we know it,’ including the child sexual abuse allegations in the 1990s. “Just to tell the facts as we know it, about the artist, about the man, about the human being. You know, the good, bad, and the ugly.” The film will feature a screenplay by John Logan, who penned Skyfall , Gladiator, and The Aviator . The biopic marks the young Jaafar’s first major film role.
Michael is going to be a star-studded affair with Kat Graham as Diana Ross, Jessica Sula as La Toya Jackson, Liv Symone as Gladys Knight, Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones, Miles Teller as John Branca, Colman Domingo as Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson.