Now that the Michael Jackson biopic is finally here, I know I’ve been curious to learn more about the actor behind the role, Jaafar Jackson, and his connections with his Uncle Michael. Well, I just learned something about his upbringing that he has in common with the King of Pop that he also took with him while preparing to play the role, too.
Much of Michael takes place during the years where Michael Jackson was living on his family’s property Hayvenhurst, which is located in Encino, California, and continues to be owned by the Jacksons. As it turns out, both Michael and Jaafar have deep roots with the house. In Jaafar’s words to Rolling Stone:
It felt crucial to be in that same energy that Michael had been in at the time. I grew up in that house, too, and have personal memories of Michael there, so there were many emotions.
I mean, they both grew up in the same house! And, while getting ready to star in Michael, Jaafar spent a lot of time at Hayvenhurst, especially doing his rehearsals. In CinemaBlend’s own interview with filmmakers Antoine Fuqua and Graham King, they said they first saw Jaafar moonwalk at the property. It’s kind of the perfect setting for this specific movie too because the biopic focuses on Michael Jackson when he made Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad, which were all demoed at Hayvenhurst.
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In addition to spending more time at the 2-acre compound in Encino, Jaafar said that he decided to make a “research room” for himself where he filled the walls with things like his uncle’s personal writings, facts of his achievements and a timeline of what was going on in the world during different parts of his life he was depicting.
Jaafar definitely deeply embodies Michael Jackson, and the first audiences who saw the film have already given the actor props for giving a “genuinely grounded performance”, being “electric” in the role and giving the “performance to beat for the rest of the year.” The movie isn’t without critics, with the majority of reviews complaining about the movie for being “feature-length publicity” and “flat characterizations.”
Even though Michael seems like it will be one of those movies with a separation between audience and critic opinions, all around there’s a lot of hype around Jaafar Jackson’s performance, and surely the closeness in proximity, as being a family member and giftedness had something to do with it.
It’s one of the most anticipated 2026 movie releases, and is expected to make a killing at the box office this weekend. While you’re here, you can learn about how the immersive stadium sequences were filmed exclusively here on CinemaBlend.