Michael Bakari Jordan has certainly grown up. We remember him as a teenager in 2002 playing Wallace in the first season of HBO’s “The Wire,” arguably one of the best television shows ever made. That show was filled with brilliant performances, and young Jordan delivered as well as one of the pivotal characters in that first season.
Jordan is much more widely known now as a result of his excellent performances as Adonis Johnson in “Creed” and “Creed II” opposite Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Along with director Ryan Coogler, Jordan has helped to bring new life to one of the most iconic movie franchises in history. In his review of the first installment, Jason Zingale writes, “Jordan brings a fierceness and vulnerability to the title character that makes his journey very different from Rocky’s own rise to fame (he has a massive chip on his shoulder, and he doesn’t try to hide it), while Stallone delivers his best work in years with a subtler and more emotional performance that continues Rocky’s own arc without stealing thunder from the main storyline.”
A new director was brought in for “Creed II,” but Jordan remained as the essential ingredient. Reviewer Steve Katz writes, “Jordan is perhaps the most natural leading man in the industry today, magnetic and brash and soulful, owning the screen with so little effort that it seems actively unfair.”
Jordan also gained notoriety with his role as main antagonist Erik Killmonger in “Black Panther.” This role have Jordan another chance to show off his impressive physique. This profile of Jordan by Men’s Journal following the initial “Creed” details the physical transformation required for that film.
It will be interesting to see where Jordan’s career goes from here. He’s immensely talented, but he’s also becoming a “star” destined to lead big budget films. Certainly more “Creed” installments are in his future. But we’re hoping he’ll take on roles that challenge him as well and don’t require any flexing as a badass character.
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More Movie Roles
“Without Remorse” (2021)
We knew a leading action role was in Michael’s future and he landed one here. It’s a solid action movie, though it will be interesting to see if it did well enough to generate sequels for this character. The film was very dark and it lacked some of the entertainment from classic action films.
Interviews
Michael discusses Wallace on “The Wire”
The actor reflects on his beloved character from Season 1: “I kind of knew it was coming. Especially when you get that knock on your trailer door from David Simon. I’ll never forget it. He said ‘I love you. The audience loves you. We’ve got to kill you. We’ve got to kill you off.’ I remember telling my mom not to show up on set that day. My mom gets extremely emotional, and this was kind of too much. I didn’t want her to see it. It was a long time to shoot that shot. We definitely overshot that for sure. I remember them having to duct-tape the windows, so the lights wouldn’t go through, because were were going so late into the night, to the morning. But it was really quiet. The crew knew.”
Creed II Interview
Michael talks about sports, his career aspirations and his workout routines on ESPN’s First Take.
Michael B. Jordan: Grounded
More from Michael on his career with Vice Sports.
Resources
You know you’re a star when you have over 8.7 million followers on Instagram. He’s also very active on Twitter. You can also check out all his roles on his IMDB page.