Following a string of successful years he’s had professionally, the now 31-year-old Michael B. Jordan is admittedly “happy” as he put it as the highly anticipated film, Black Panther, is released this month. After winning two NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year last year, signing a multi-movie deal, and will be producing films moving forward, Micheal is looking forward to the life ahead. But he’s put in the work to be here at this level.
“I’ve been doing it for so long – like, 16 years – and it wasn’t like I got too much too fast. It wasn’t like I blew up overnight. I wasn’t a child star. That wasn’t what it was. It was just something that, you know, I grew into it, and I fell in love with it as it came along. And I kind of saw it for what it was.”
Here’s a look back at some of Jordan’s most memorable roles on his journey through stardom…
The Wire (2002)
There are a number of notable stars who were in the critically-acclaimed HBO series, The Wire. Jordan was one of the original characters making his debut in season one of the Baltimore-based narcotics drama playing Wallace, a young and intelligent boy who got caught up in the local drug dealing becoming a member of the Barksdale Organisation. Wallace’s murder at the hands of his childhood friends Bodie and Poot was one of the most heart-wrenching of the series.
All My Children (2004)
When he was a pre-teen and teen starting out in the acting world, Jordan made small appearances in mob boss TV series The Sopranos and Bill Cosby’s sitcom before landing a recurring role in ABC’s All My Children as orphaned Reggie Porter Montgomery.
MUST READ: Michael B. Jordan Never Said He Didn’t Like Black Women (So Stop Saying It!)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
Jordan stepped it up a notch and proved the quality of his acting abilities with his tear-jerking performance in Fruitvale Station. The Ryan Coogler-directed picture recounted the very-real life story of a young man named Oscar Grant who was wrongfully shot to death by police in 2009. Grant, a father of one, was trying to…
…turn his life around on the last day of 2008 before ringing in the New Year with his girlfriend and friends. But his life got cut short by an angry police officer and the real life killing got caught on someone’s cell phone.
Creed (2015)
Jordan once again teamed up with Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler in this follow-up to the Rocky movie franchise. Jordan gives an unforgettable performance as the son of Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa’s main rival in the boxing ring. The on-screen chemistry with Sylvester Stallone and Jordan was one that no critic could deny earning critical acclaim across the board from moviegoers everywhere.
So what’s next for you the young actor?
Next up, Jordan will star in Short Term 12 director Destin Cretton’s Just Mercy, based on Bryan Stevenson’s 2014 memoir, as a civil-rights lawyer fighting to free a death-row prisoner. After that, he plans to reteam with Coogler for Wrong Answer, the true story of an Atlanta schoolteacher ensnared in a standardized-test cheating scandal. Somewhere between those and Coogler’s Black Panther, the duo will presumably make time for Creed 2, which Stallone has hinted may include Godfather II–esque flashbacks to the relationship between Rocky and Apollo.
Jordan is still adjusting. “You’re thinking about things you would never otherwise think about,” he says. “Before I leave up out the house, I’ve got to think about where I’m going and who might be there. Do I need a haircut today? I haven’t gotten a cut in like a week. Damn, I just wore this shit out — and the paparazzi might be out there. You start to think about things that are not normal.”
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