Before Jaafar Jackson ever stepped in front of a camera to play his uncle Michael Jackson, he did something that left the film’s crew genuinely stunned. He built a research room.
Not a folder. Not a playlist. An entire room.
Jaafar went back to Hayvenhurst — the Jackson family home in Encino, where both he and Michael grew up — and set it up as his personal preparation base.
He created a dedicated research room, trained in the same dance room Michael had once used, and slept in different rooms throughout the house just to absorb the space’s energy.
Inside that room, he covered the walls with Michael’s personal writings, records of his achievements, and a detailed timeline of world events for each era of his uncle’s life he would depict on screen.
A Look Inside Jaafar’s Research Room
The preparation of his study went beyond the walls. Jaafar studied hours of interviews and private home videos, absorbing Michael’s nuances, mannerisms, and the human side beneath the superstar persona.
HE APPLIED THE SAME METHOD MICHAEL HIMSELF USED — WATCHING ARTISTS WHO INSPIRED HIM AND BREAKING DOWN WHAT MADE THEM GREAT.
The Full Behind-The-Scenes Of How Jaafar Prepared
Jaafar described his approach as wanting to “dissect everything,” crediting Michael as the inspiration:
“THAT’S ONE THING I LEARNED FROM MICHAEL, HOW HE DISSECTED LIKE A SCIENTIST.”
Director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King first witnessed the result when Jaafar moonwalked at Hayvenhurst during early rehearsals.
Co-star Colman Domingo said he had rarely seen an actor tap so deeply into why a person moved the way they did — not just copying the surface, but understanding the meaning behind every gesture.
The Michael biopic is now in theaters and available on digital platforms for streaming.