Michael Jackson’s nephew has another honor on the way, and this one comes with a funny little family link nobody planned.
On Friday, Oct. 30, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival named the actors who’ll receive its 2027 Virtuosos Award. Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s nephew and the star of “Michael,” is on the list for playing his uncle.
He’s in good company. The other honorees are Carrie Coon for “The Liberation,” Mariana di Girolamo for “Wild Horse Nine,” Rosalind Eleazar for “Misty Green,” Jordan Firstman for “Club Kid,” Anthony Ippolito for “I Play Rocky,” Inde Navarrette for “Obsession” and Kate O’Flynn for “Tender Loving Care.” Ippolito plays a young Sylvester Stallone.
The festival says the award recognizes “talent whose work in films has placed them at the center of the conversation around the year’s most noteworthy cinematic performances.”
Dave Karger, a Turner Classic Movies host and the festival’s moderator, sounded thrilled. “This year’s Virtuosos are a powerhouse group from the most talked-about films of the season. I think it’s especially fitting that so many of them are international performers, and I can’t wait to help welcome them all to Santa Barbara,” he told Variety.
The family is cheering too. In an interview with The Canadian Press released Friday, Michael’s son Prince said he hopes his cousin gets awards recognition for the role. Here’s Prince on camera with Entertainment Tonight, reacting to Jaafar’s work as his dad.
Prince Jackson reacts to his cousin playing Michael
Now for the link.
A few years back, this same award went to another young actor who had just played a king of music. He’d stepped into the shoes of a legend, too, and that legend has his own tie to the Jackson family.
It was Austin Butler, for playing Elvis Presley in “Elvis” (2022).
Butler was one of the festival’s Virtuosos for 2023, and he was honored on Feb. 15, 2023, at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre. And here’s the connection: Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s daughter, married Michael on May 26, 1994.
So one award now ties Michael’s nephew to the actor who played Elvis.
Here’s a Santa Barbara TV news report from when the 2023 honorees were announced, Butler among them.
The 2023 Santa Barbara honorees are announced
Butler’s run didn’t stop in Santa Barbara. “Elvis” earned him a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe, and he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor. This is the night he picked up the Golden Globe.
Austin Butler wins a Golden Globe for playing Elvis
Butler isn’t the only big name on the festival’s honor roll. Past Virtuosos from the last six years also include Jacob Elordi, Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney and Kieran Culkin.
Jaafar will get his award and talk about his work in person on Feb. 7, 2027, during the 42nd festival, which runs Feb. 3 to 13. It should be quite a night for the Jackson family, and for anybody who’s ever watched a young actor take on a king.