Colman Domingo Wants to Find Joe Jackson’s ‘Humanity, Heart and Humor’ in Michael Jackson Biopic (Exclusive)

Colman Domingo wants to portray a “complex version” of Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, in an upcoming biopic about the King of Pop.

Speaking to PEOPLE at the African American Film Critics Association Awards on Wednesday, Domingo, who is nominated for a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in Rustin, he says while filming Michaelwhich is currently underway, is “going well”.

“I’m having a good time with it,” he adds. “Right now it seems I’m on my way to questioning some of these actual human beings. I want to find their humanity, I want to find their heart and their humor. It may go against public opinion sometimes, but I think it’s my responsibility to find a complex version of these people.”

Indeed, the Jackson family patriarch – who died in 2018 at the age of 89 – was a strict parent who had a complicated relationship with his 11 children.

Colman Domingo Says He Has Room For ‘Two Oscars’ Next To His ‘Euphoria’ Emmy (Exclusive)

While he nurtured his children’s musical talents and guided some of their careers, including that of “Thriller” superstar Michael, who died at age 50 in 2009, he could also be an imposing figure.

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in ‘Michael’.

Kevin Mazur / Lionsgate

As PEOPLE noted in Joe’s 2018 obituary, his daughter La Toya Jackson wrote in her 1991 memoir that “he abused her and terrorized her brothers, often pointing guns at children to get their attention.”

Michael confirmed to Oprah Winfrey on the 1993 TV show that Joe beat him.

In an interview with Winfrey a year after Michael’s death, Joe said he had no regrets about hitting his children: “It kept them out of jail and kept them right.”

Colman Domingo.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Domingo said in a January press release that he was excited to play the “flawed” Joe and also to see Michael’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, son of Michael’s brother Jermaine, play the “Bad” singer. ”

“After I saw him in rehearsal, I was blown away. There is something divine about the way Jaafar directs his late uncle. His talent and embodying the essence of Michael is simply on another level,” said Domingo.

Apart from Jaafar and Domingo, the cast Michael features Nia Long as Jackson’s matriarch Katherine and Miles Teller as entertainment lawyer John Branca, who is credited with helping Michael transition from the Jackson 5 boy band to solo superstardom.

Training dayAntoine Fuqua directed the film, which is scheduled for release on April 18, 2025.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education