Michael B. Jordan was established in Santa Ana, California, and reared in Newark, New Jersey, as the middle of 3 kids. Michael A. Jordan and Donna (Davis), a high school counselor, are his parents. Bakari, his middle initial in Swahili, meaning “noble promise.” He is neither connected to nor nicknamed after basketballer.
Jordan has appeared in 3 of the most successful tv programs in the last ten years. Jordan first appeared in HBO’s breakthrough smash The Wire as Wallace, a tough guy with a kind heart (2002). After that, he portrayed quarterback Vince Howard on Friday Evening Lighting (2006) and then Alex, a recovered junkie, on Parenthood (2006).
Jordan landed his first significant acting part in the film Fruitvale Station, in which he played Oscar Grant (2013). Oscar’s controversial death by police officers on a San Francisco railway platform is the subject of the film. Forest Whitaker produced the film, which stars Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz (Significant Films). It was awarded the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic Film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It also featured in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
The film has received several awards, including Best Opening Feature at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards, Distinguished Indie Screenplay at the 2014 Academy Awards, and the Directors Guild of America’s Stanley Kramer Prize. The film was chosen as one of the 10 leading films at the 2013 National Board of Evaluation Accolades, wherein Jordan earned Excellence. Jordan was also nominated for an Independent Streak Award for Best Leading Man in 2013 and received the Gotham Award for Standout Performance.
Jordan appeared in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four (2015) as ‘Johnny Storm,’ dubbed ‘The Human Torch,’ with Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, and Kate Mara. On August 7, 2015, the film was released. Jordan previously appeared in the box office hit Chronicle (2012) (also directed by Trank), a supernatural thriller about three Portland young teens (MBJ, Dane Dehaan, and Alex Russell) who develop amazing powers after being exposed to a strange material; Focus Films’ That Awkward Moment (2015), opposite Zac Efron and Miles Teller; and George Lucas’ film Red Tails (2012), about the first African-American aircraft to fly.
Jordan reteamed with Ryan Coogler for Creed (2015), in which he co-starred with Sylvester Stallone and Tessa Thompson. MGM and Warner Brothers released the picture on Thanksgiving Day, 2015. Jordan, who grew up reading comic books, played the villain Eric Killmonger in the 2018 film office sensation Black Panther (2018). In 2018, he also played Guy Montag in HBO’s version of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction classic Fahrenheit 451.
