Jaafar Jackson on Playing His Uncle in ‘Michael,’ Losing the Original Third Act and the Upcoming Sequel: ‘My Job Is to Come Prepared’

Two years before a frame of “Michael” was shot, Jaafar Jackson wrote down a list of goals. One was to beat “Bohemian Rhapsody” and cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. He did both. Antoine Fuqua’s film, which opened April 24, became the first biopic in history to surpass $1 billion worldwide and Lionsgate’s […] Awards Circuit Podcast: Jaafar Jackson on the billion-dollar "Michael, cutting the third act, his father’s reaction and where the sequel stands. Awards Circuit Podcast: Also, what's it like to grow up in one of the most famous families in the world? Two years before a frame of “Michael” was shot, Jaafar Jackson wrote down a list of goals.

One was to beat “Bohemian Rhapsody” and cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Antoine Fuqua’s film, which opened April 24, became the first biopic in history to surpass $1 billion worldwide and Lionsgate’s biggest release ever. It also made a star of Jackson, who had never acted professionally before. “I was pretty emotional,” he tells Variety. “I know how proud Michael would be of that, because he was someone who wanted to break many records.” On this episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Jackson opens up about leading the