Prince Jackson knew his cousin Jaafar was playing Michael Jackson.
He had seen photographs of the transformation. He was an executive producer on the movie. He understood exactly what the production was trying to create.
But none of that prepared him for seeing Jaafar standing in front of him in his father’s hair, makeup and costume.
Prince called it an “emotional shock.”
Michael had been gone since 2009, when Prince was only 12. Suddenly, years later, Prince was looking at his cousin and seeing something painfully familiar.
He said Jaafar “embodied him and brought him back in that moment.”
Prince struggled to keep his composure.
He wanted to walk over and hug Jaafar as though he were hugging his father again.
Instead, Prince told his cousin he was proud of him, reassured him that he was going to do well and then admitted he needed to step outside for some air.
Prince Jackson Describes Seeing Jaafar as Michael
The moment carried another layer because Prince and Jaafar had grown up together.
Prince remembered the two cousins spending time at Hayvenhurst and making home movies as children. Years later, they found themselves working together on a major film about the man who was Prince’s father and Jaafar’s uncle. Prince called the experience one of the greatest of his life.
Prince was deeply involved with Michael throughout production.
The Antoine Fuqua-directed film traces Michael’s rise from the Jackson 5 through his enormous solo career, with Jaafar portraying his uncle as an adult. Prince said he hoped younger viewers would understand the work, pressure and experiences behind the person Michael eventually became.
He also pushed back against the idea that his father could be understood simply through decades of headlines.
Prince described Michael as one of the most misunderstood people in the world and said he hoped the movie would give audiences a glimpse into the experiences that shaped him.
For Prince, however, the most powerful moment happened before audiences ever saw the finished movie.
It happened quietly on set.
He looked at his cousin in full costume and, for a few overwhelming seconds, saw his father standing in front of him again.
Prince knew it was Jaafar. But emotionally, the resemblance was strong enough that he had to walk outside and collect himself.