Michael B. Jordan has really come a long way since his early days as Wallace on The Wire and other movies to becoming a big star in the world of Hollywood. Starring as John Kelly in Without Remorse, the anticipated adaptation of Tom Clancy’s 1993 novel that once had Keanu Reeves attached, as well as producer, Jordan is getting closer to becoming a bang in the Hollywood space. And while the pandemic kept Without Remorse off the big screen, Amazon brought it to homes on the small screen.
During a recent conversation with members of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) for their virtual roundtable about his great film and incredible moves, Jordan revealed that he did 95 to 96 percent of his own stunts, which includes impressive burning car and underwater scenes. Becoming John Kelly was a personal mission for Jordan, who began to envision himself as an action star after appearing in several films, including Chronicle in 2012.
“As far as roles I wanted to go after, roles that I wanted to make inherently Black, I wanted to play roles that Leo (DiCaprio) was playing and Tom Cruise, actors that play characters that are just characters [where] there’s no bias when the characters are being created or written,” Jordan shared.
Impacting a sole change in Hollywood is not something spontaneous, but for Jordan, that change has come for himself and others by “being able to produce, create my own production company, have more of a say when it comes into hiring other positions, not just in front of the camera, but behind the camera as well.”
On screen, Jordan and his team really have stunning displays, with the introduction of Lieutenant Commander Karen Greer, who is both a comrade and protector to Jordan’s John Kelly. Greer, played by Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith, is the niece of Admiral Jim Greer, played by James Earl Jones in other Tom Clancy book screen adaptations.
“That representation, that imagery, those scenes of her being completely capable in the field and showing that camaraderie between her and John out in the field, but then also seeing her in her dress blues and being in the boardrooms with the Secretary of Defense and how she held her own in that space as well, to be able to go from that place to another, I thought was really, really powerful.”
Jordan told The View that he is not aware of his casting in the Black Panther sequel albeit, but he plans on curating his niche and making history in Hollywood.
Recall, in March, it was announced he would make his directorial debut with Creed 3, in which he also stars. Going into this challenge, he says “prep has been a common piece of advice that I’ve been getting from my director friends and people I really look up to. [They are] just like ‘prep as much as you can. Be as prepared as possible.’”
