shares how he chooses what movies and projects to work on and in the process shares some great tips for actors.
Actor Michael B. Jordan is on fire. He starred in one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Black Panther, appeared in the HBO movie adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, and just finished filming Creed II, which is expected to hit theaters later on this year.
In a recent actor roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan explained why it is essential for actors to follow their instincts when it comes to choosing projects. He says, “You can’t do everything. And obviously you have agents who have their own agenda, everybody’s trying to push you and navigate you toward saying or taking a job that you may not feel 100 percent comfortable with. Everything on paper may look good, but you have to go with your instincts. When I was younger, I started off still living at home, and I didn’t have any real responsibilities, I didn’t have a mortgage to worry about or bills to pay, so you’re taking what’s in front of you. But once you get older and a little more successful, the choices you make really define the way the industry looks at you and how you move forward with your career. Those are the times that you’ve got to be a little bit more selective with the kind of projects that you do.”
Jordan explains that he was not initially interested in starring in Fahrenheit 451 because of playing an authoritative figure in the movie. He explains, “I wasn’t interested in playing an authoritative figure with what was going on in the world with police and in my community. And being a black man, I didn’t want to play somebody who was an oppressor. I just didn’t want that in my head. And the character just didn’t sit right because I played Oscar Grant [a police shooting victim in Fruitvale Station]and I was playing characters that meant so much to my community at that time.”
But, it was a conversation with the director that changed his mind. Jordan adds, “But sitting down with the director, Ramin [Bahrani], and knowing Michael Shannon was going to be a part of it, and understanding the vision and the themes and messages that he wanted to send through the movie [convinced me]. And at that time, I hadn’t read the book. I read it, and then I talked to my agents, my mom, dad, friends, people who are around me and know me. That’s how I make decisions.”
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