Michael B. Jordan on the racial aspect of Oscar’s death.
Michael B. Jordan: I think sometimes being a product of your environment, looking a certain way, wearing a certain type of clothes, whatever the case may be is really easy for somebody from the outside of that community to judge and group you up. It could’ve been Hispanic, could’ve been Asian, could’ve been white but it didn’t matter. I guess the more shocking thing is that it happened in the Bay which is a very diverse city. It wasn’t like in the south somewhere where I guess it’s kind of more expected, but it happened in such a place where they pride themselves on being diverse and being a very progressive place.
Honestly, I think in this world, as long as there’s a good and a bad, us vs. them mentality, there’s guns involved, there’s always going to be a struggle. I think there’s always going to be issues like that with humans because we’re all flawed. Greed, power, etc. etc., that’s just something that exists. I think there’s nothing you can really do about that. Hopefully from the movie, people will take from it and look at themselves in the mirror and think, “How can I be a better person.” Honestly, in how we treat people. So I think that’s where it starts. It starts with the individual. Honestly, it’s not going to be 30, 40, 50, 60 years from now, probably not in my lifetime you’ll ever see a significant change, but if we can leave bread crumbs for the next generation to come along and want to be better, I think that’s very ambitious as well.
Michael B. Jordan on his responsibility to Oscar’s family.
There was definitely a certain sense of responsibility that we had for the family. Watching it at Sundance, the way it was received with everybody checking it out, I sat right behind Wanda and I was always peeking to see what she thought. During some pretty tough parts in the film, I’m sure it was for her to watch, kind of see her reaction and she was pretty cool, kept it together.
His aunt and uncle, she stood up at the end, at the Q&A and said there were certain scenes in the movie where she couldn’t tell the difference between myself and Oscar. I think that was the biggest thing for me because it meant the most to me. That was something I thought about a lot because one day his daughter is going to have to watch this movie and I just want to make sure it’s something that makes that family, not proud, but takes care of his legacy I guess.
Michael B. Jordan on the impact of “The Wire” on his career.
At the time I did it, I’d just turned 16 and didn’t really realize exactly what I was doing at the time, or didn’t realize the show was going to become what it was. But it was the first time I fell in love with acting, the first time I lost myself in a role. Just working with veterans, seasoned vets, David Simon, Wendell Pierce, Idris Elba, Dominic West, so many people that I learned from at a very young age, it definitely helped out a lot and opened up a lot of doors for me moving forward. Critics, directors, the right people really cared about that show. It didn’t get a lot of attention when it was on but it definitely set the tone for me at a young age. It just kind of set my taste buds. I was spoiled, man. I was spoiled at a young age, honestly.
Michael B. Jordan on the doors that Fruitvale Station will open.
Personally, it opens up a lot of doors because it’s the first time I’m the lead of a film. An actor sometimes, they go their whole careers not being able to have a movie they can rest on their shoulders. It was very nerve-wracking and very nervous but it’s something that I felt I really wanted to do, especially coming out of TV. I always wanted to do something that was a very intimate character-driven piece. I think the way it’s being received right now is definitely changing the conversation for future projects and I’m looking forward to that hopefully. We’ll see what happens in July, end of July, August, September.
CraveOnline: Have you allowed yourself to think about potential awards season?
I try, whenever I hear that word, I cover my ears. Don’t jinx me. It’s just one of those things, honestly as a person, you dream. You’ve got to be a dreamer to be an actor. You’ve got to dream big, so if it does, great, it’s awesome. That wasn’t the reason why we did the film and that wasn’t where it came from, but the fact that everybody was receiving it is just awesome. It’s an honor to even be in that conversation honestly at this point, so if it happens, great. If not, then…
Michael B. Jordan on rumor he was offered a role in the Fantastic Four reboot.
If that were to be true, I think that I would definitely embrace it personally. It’s gotta start somewhere. Superheroes, comic books, all that stuff, early ‘60s, Civil Rights didn’t really kick in until like ’64. It’s a continuity thing I think. People are just used to consistency and like the way things used to be, but if I could be a part of change, yeah, why not?
Michael B. Jordan on his next film, Are We Officially Dating?
It’s me, Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Imogen Poots and it’s basically three best friends who make a promise to stay single for as long as they can. I’m going through a divorce throughout the film. It’s pretty much like what it’s like to date being in your early 20s set in New York in the new age of Facebook and social media and how that changes how we court and how we date and stuff like that. It’s my first time doing a romantic comedy so I’m looking forward.
It was challenging honestly. It wasn’t my comfort zone. I stepped out. I stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit. Miles is somebody I definitely respect a lot. I took the backseat. I learned from him on this one. I told him I’m going to get him in a drama and whoop his ass but me and him have a competitive little rivalry. I respect him a lot. We push each other to be better so he’s a solid actor. I think it’s going to be a cool project. Tom Gormican, first time writer/director, he’s a really funny guy. Honestly, sometimes you’ve got to put the movie in the hands of the filmmaker and trust that they’re going to see their vision through. I think it worked.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Shelf Space Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
