Trending Topics

The Current Climate of Police Brutality Has Michael B. Jordan Being More Selective of Movie Roles

Michael B. Jordan Denzel Washington Interview

Instagram

Denzel Washington and Michael B. Jordan sat down for a joint interview with The New York Times, where they discussed topics like movies, Broadway, politics and the #Metoo movement.

Washington is about to star in the Broadway show “The Iceman Cometh,” and Jordan will be in the HBO film “Fahrenheit 451,” where he’ll play a fireman who’s sanctioned by the state to capture readers and burn their books.

At first, the 31-year-old said he didn’t want to take on the “Fahrenheit 451” role, mainly because he had to play an oppressive authority figure, and there’s been such a large number of police brutality cases involving Black people. 

“I was shooting ‘Black Panther’ down in Atlanta when I first saw the script for ‘Fahrenheit,'” Jordan recalled. ”I didn’t want to do it at all. I didn’t want to play an authority figure, especially with what’s going on with the police in my community. I didn’t want to play an officer who was oppressing people. But then I had lunch with the director [Ramin Bahrani], and he talked me through his vision, what the movie would be about and slowly I changed my mind.”

But before Jordan fully signed on, he said some things in the script had to be changed, so it would properly show that a Black man was taking on the role.

“It wasn’t all there on the page,” he explained. “I needed to make sure that he was willing to collaborate, to change some things to help me as a Black man feel more comfortable in that role. And my company’s co-producing it alongside HBO was important to me too. This is my first time working with the director and the network, giving my opinion and hoping that it’s taken seriously.”

Another thing that directors will have to take seriously is whether the characters they offer Jordan lives or dies in the film because if it’s the latter he won’t be interested.  Why? Because one: He wants to be a survivor in a movie, not a victim and two: His mother just can’t take seeing her baby boy die on camera.

“It started with my mom who’s super emotional,” said Jordan. “When I shot my death scene in ‘The Wire,’ she was on set and the P.A.’s kept coming to me and saying ‘You may want to check on your mom.’ I go see her, and she’s sitting there bawling.”

“And after ‘Fruitvale Station,’ I was like, ‘Man, this is really affecting her. But there was another thing too,” he added. “Look at Denzel’s career. I want people to see me win. I want audiences to see me ending up on top, not dying. I want to be a leading man.

Towards the end of the interview, the conversation swung around to the topic of powerful men who do bad things, in both politics and entertainment.

That’s when Washington brought up Donald Trump and said the bad ways he’s leading people is nothing new, it’s just now documented in a 24-hour news cycle, every 15 minutes.

And as far as #MeToo, the “Training Day” actor said that he doesn’t want to be put on a pedestal, because he’s also made some mistakes but has settled down with age.

“When you’re younger, you want to see, taste, touch,” said Washington. “But when you get to be my age, you learn you don’t have to. I have a beautiful wife, beautiful children, a great job. What more do I need?”

Opening night for Washington’s play “The Iceman Cometh” is on April 26, and Jordan’s film “Fahrenheit 451” premieres on May 19 at 8:00 p.m.

Back to top