Michael B. Jordan's budding acting career started much before The Wire but the drama series is definitely what put him on the map. Although he was killed off in the first season playing young Wallace, it was his mother's reactions to such scenes that pushed him to secure roles being the "leading man."
“It started with my mom, who’s super-emotional. When I shot my death scene in ‘The Wire,’ she was on set,” Jordan recalled in his New York Times interview. “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. I’m just a kid. I’m going, ‘Come on, Ma. You’re embarrassing me.'” The HBO series wasn't the only job to affect his mother, take Fruitvale Station for example.
Michael admits that he then secured non-death roles in Creed, Fantastic Four and That Awkward Moment. But there's another reason why he stayed clear of ending up dead in movies. “Look at Denzel [Washington]’s career,” he said. “I want people to see me win. I want audiences to see me ending up on top — not dying. I want to be the leading man.”
We recently posted the new trailer for Michael's role in Fahrenheit 451 and the 31-year-old is currently filming Creed 2.