What a week this is turning out to be for Colman Domingo. Fresh off earning his first Oscar nomination for his Best Actor performance in Rustin, Domingo has been cast as Joe Jackson, manager of the Jackson 5, in Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic, titled Michael.
Domingo revealed the news to Variety. He’ll play the strict, intensely focused, and highly controversial patriarch of the Jackson family. Already set to star in the film is Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, who will play the King of Pop. 9-year-old Juliano Krue Valdi will play MJ as a child.
“Colman has such incredible range – he puts in the work to deeply inhabit his characters and understand their true essence and motivation,” Fuqua said. “I’m grateful to be working with an actor with his passion and ability to portray the many sides of Joe Jackson: a husband, a father, and a manager.”
“I’m excited to be a part of a film that explores both the complicated soul of the legendary Michael Jackson as well as his impact on music and culture as a global icon,” Domingo said. “Not only am I fortunate to have a rich, complex and flawed character to portray in Joe Jackson, but I also have a front row seat for Jaafar’s incredible transformation. After seeing him in rehearsal, my mind was blown. There is something divine about the way that Jaafar is channeling his late uncle. His talent and embodiment of Michael’s essence is simply on another level.”
Domingo also had a role as Mister in The Color Purple, which received a single Oscar nomination for his co-star, Danielle Brooks.
Michael is in production now and will be released on April 18th 2025.
