Colman Domingo and Nia Long on Feb. 7, 2024.Photo:W Blanco / BACKGRID
W Blanco / BACKGRID
Nia LongandColman Domingoare slipping into their new movie roles.
On Wednesday, Long, 53, and Domingo, 54, were seen for the first time on the set of the upcoming biopicMichael, centered around the late pop music iconMichael Jackson, whodied in 2009at age 50. The pair are playing Jackson’s parents, Katherine and Joe, in the upcoming movie fromTraining DaydirectorAntoine Fuqua.
Academy Award-nominee Domingo was seen sporting an afro in costume as Joe, whodied at 89in 2018, as he stood next to Long, who plays the Jackson family’s 93-year-old matriarch.
Domingo will co-star with Michael’s real-life nephewJaafar Jacksonas he takes on playing the King of Pop.
Joe notably managed Michael and his siblings in the Jackson 5, as well as daughters Rebbie,La ToyaandJanetfrom the 1960s through the ’80s.
Colman Domingo and Nia Long on Feb. 7, 2024.W Blanco / BACKGRID
“I’m excited to be a part of a film that explores both the complicated soul of the legendary Michael Jackson as well as his impact on music and culture as a global icon,” Domingo said in a press release at the time his casting was announced.
“Not only am I fortunate to have a rich, complex and flawed character to portray in Joe Jackson, but I also have a front row seat for Jaafar’s incredible transformation," he added. “After seeing him in rehearsal, my mind was blown. There is something divine about the way that Jaafar is channeling his late uncle. His talent and embodiment of Michael’s essence is simply on another level.”
Joe Jackson and Katherine Jackson on March 20, 1993.Alain BENAINOUS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty
Alain BENAINOUS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Jaafar is the son ofJermaine Jackson, who performed alongside brothers Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael for years as the Jackson 5. Their father, Joe, booked the group a recording contract withMotown Recordsin 1969, which launched them to superstardom and paved the way for Michael’s majorly successful solo career.
Katherine and Joe Jackson, circa 1984.David Hume Kennerly/Getty
David Hume Kennerly/Getty
Domingo was among one of manyfirst-time Oscar nomineeswhen nominations for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards were announced in January. The star was honored for his performance as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix movieRustin.
He is nominated alongsideBradley CooperofMaestro,Paul GiamattiofThe Holdovers, Cillian Murphy ofOppenheimerand Jeffrey Wright ofAmerican Fiction.
Domingo also starred in the recent movie musicalThe Color Purple. He will next appear on the big screen in Ethan Coen’sDrive-Away Dolls, in theaters Feb. 23.
source: people.com
