Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Michael B. Jordan

Episode Date: May 9, 2021

Over the course of two decades in Hollywood, Michael B. Jordan has made a name for himself in television series like The Wire and Friday Night Lights, and in movies like Fruitvale Station, Creed and of course the billion-dollar blockbuster Black Panther. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actor to talk about his impressive career, his new leading role as a Tom Clancy Navy SEAL, and his current reign as People’s “Sexiest Man Alive.”  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you with, I'm just going to come out and say it. The coolest guy in Hollywood? I know these things are subjective, but maybe this one isn't. It's Michael B. Jordan. He's done so much in his young career. He's currently starring in an Amazon Prime movie called Without Remorse.

It comes from the Tom Clancy universe, of course, Jack Ryan, and now John Kelly, a former Navy C.O. played by Michael B. Jordan, who's basically trying to stop a conspiracy to start a war between Russia and the United States. Incredible movie. He's also a producer on the film. His production company is called Outlier Society.

They work to make movie sets more inclusive and more diverse, so he has a big say in that now with his clout that he has earned in Hollywood by playing parts going all the way back to the wire. Remember him on the wire? He was a teenager playing a character named Wallace, moved up to, Friday Night Lights on NBC, Fruitvale Station, Creed, of course, Black Panther, where he played

Kilmonger opposite his good friend, the late Chadwick Bozeman. The two of them, by the way, go back. Chadwick and Michael B. Jordan met on All My Children. That's right. Chadwick Bozeman was on All My Children in, 2002. He left the show. Michael B. Jordan came in after him, and that's where they first met, and then went on, of course, to star together in the $1.3 billion blockbuster Black Panther. One note before we get started. We are both from New Jersey. I'm from Bergen County, New Jersey. Michael is from Essex County, New Jersey.

He grew up in Newark, where he played sports and I played sports. So before we got going, we started talking a little bit about New Jersey sports. So if you hear us mention, I don't know, Berringer High School was one of our rival high schools in Newark. he also played against Berenger. So just a little inside baseball, inside football there as we get going on a great conversation, amazing career, great guy, and yes, we talk about his current reign as people's sexiest man alive. Here he is right now on the Sunday Sit Down podcast, Michael B. Jordan. Michael, thanks for doing this. Good to see you, man.

All right. You as well. Thanks for having me. We could spend most of this interview talking about New Jersey high school football, I think, but maybe we'll save that first. a different time, focus on the movie. Say that for another time. We can say that for another time, man. So let's talk about without remorse. I told you, I just watched it today. And, man, it comes out and grabs you from the word go and doesn't let go for the next couple of hours. What does it feel like to be on the eve of this movie coming out that

you've poured so much into? I'm excited. You know, honestly, you know, we finished shooting this movie right before the pandemic hit. So to go through post and edit, and really put this movie together and not really sure where exactly, you know, when it was going to come out. So now that things are loosening back up and, you know, getting ready to, you know, drop it on, you know, on Amazon Prime. You know, I'm really, really, really excited about this one, man. So let's give people a little bit of the backstory without giving too much away about who John Kelly is. It's based off the Tom Clancy book, which right away people lean in and they want to see it.

But this is sort of the origin story of a character they may not know as well. Yeah, John Kelly. So this is like, you know, arguably, you know, his second probably most famous character that he's, you know, created, you know, in his novels. And I've always been a fan of the Tom Clancy universe, you know, growing up playing Rainbow Six video games and really, you know, envisioning myself throughout these missions. So when I had an opportunity to really, like, give, you know, John Kelly, you know, a fresh take and modernize the story, you know, that kind of is more reflective of the world that I live in today. I just jumped up the opportunity. He kind of, you know, he goes through a personal tragedy, you know, he's a Navy SEAL. You know, he's a really loyal guy. You know, he believes in everything that he does. And when he gets wrong, you know, he wants some answers, you know, and this movie kind of takes place of John looking for those answers no matter where they are.

The video game part of this is crazy to me because you literally are living out the fantasy of every kid. You grow up playing a video game and now you get to go live it out. Exactly. And that's one of the things, you know, I mean, I love my job, man. I love being able to, you know, to, you know, do my own stunts. You know, I mean, as a kid in the living room, when you're taking the couch cushions and, you know, you're jumping off of them and, you know, pretending, you know, playing make-believe of whatever it is, these are type of movies that I watched growing up. And so I finally be able to get into a place where I can do my own stunts and I can train for, you know, underwater sequences and, you know, burning cars and, you know,

tactical training and explosions and all that good stuff. It's, you know, it's a dream come true. You've called this the ideal movie for you that when you saw this, you were like, I need to do this. Why do you say that exactly? Because I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. You know, I, you know, looking up to, you know, movie stars and action, action heroes, like, you know, Tom Cruise and Michael Jai White, you know, Wesley Snipes, Jackie Chan, you know, these guys, they always put the work into it, you know, they study, they train, so they could, you know, be put in a position to actually do the stunts themselves. And I always wanted to do that.

You know, I always wanted a vehicle or a movie that would allow me to actually do my own stuff. So, you know, for this one, had a great stunt team, you know, we were very safe, put a lot of time into working out and training and getting prepared. so they felt comfortable enough putting me in those positions. Do you say you're doing your own stunts and you do in this movie, when I watch you walk up to a burning car casually open the door and get in or plunge into a river, let's say, and hold your breath underwater for a while?

That's you, that's Michael B. Jordan? Yeah, that's me, man. That's, you know, obviously, you know, I have like my stunt double clay, you know, it goes through things, make sure everything's safe, you know, works out all the kinks, make sure, you know, everything is awesome and safe as, as can be. But no, man, like, you know, doing military, you know, diving, you know, and, you know, going to dive tanks and, you know, spending hours and hours and hours under there becoming comfortable. The burning car is like, it's not too much you could really do to train for that. You know, I think that's the one I thought about the least.

I was like, all right, cool. I got to do what? Okay, cool. Let me just do it. Don't think about it. You know, you put some, you know, flame retardant gel on you to make sure, you know, you can stay as cool as possible for as long as possible. But you still might walk away with a few less eyebrows and eyelashes. It gets pretty hot getting it out of the car.

Is there anybody in your life or on set saying, hey, you're one of the biggest movie stars in the world. We don't need you walking into a burning car right now. I mean, all the producers, I think everybody was saying that, you know, had my mom on speed dial, you know. So I think it was one of those things where I definitely had to persuade them at a certain moment. to let me do the things that they were like, ah, you don't have to.

I'm like, no, no, no, I want to. Let's do it. Let's just figure it out. So, yeah, it was full. You've said before that your mom gets tired of watching you die in movies over the course of your career, so she didn't want to see it in this one. Yeah, this one gave her a lot of anxiety,

but it wasn't as nerve-wracking, I'm sure, some of the other characters that I played that didn't make it out, you know? So, you know, as you get older, and, you know, you start to, you know, mature and have other roles that you want to see them, you know, make it to the end of the credits, you know, so it's, it was good. Speaking of the end of the credits, again, we can cut this out if you don't want to talk about it, but there's a moment after the credits that leads me to believe this may be the beginning of something for you. Is that fair to say in this series? Yeah, that's fair to say.

I mean, I think we want to, you know, definitely stick around after the credits. But, yeah, I think we're, you know, we're alluding to the fact that we think we created a world that was, you know, interesting and cool and fun. And we want to see where, you know, John Clark goes from here, you know. And I don't think he's done yet, you know. So, yeah, he has a lot more to do. And I'm really interesting to see where he goes. Is it cool for you, Michael, to have reached the point in your career? where you can live out some of these fantasies

to have grown up watching Matt Damon be Jason Bourne or Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible or all the stars you mentioned. And now there you are standing as the guy that some kid watching movies growing up is going to say, I want to be Michael B. Jordan in those movies. No, that's cool, man.

That's, you know, yeah, I mean, I think it's safe to say. That's something that, you know, I'm hopeful of, you know, and I want to continue to do movies like this. to continue to inspire. You know, I think representation is extremely important, you know, so to be able to, you know, do a wide, you know, range of movies in different genres.

And this is like my first one in this space. So to be able to be able to, you know, to do this type of movie is exciting for me. And it hopefully inspires a lot of kids too. Yeah, people may not realize that you're a producer of the movie, Outlier Society, your production company, which has become this sort of force in Hollywood. Talk a little, if you can, Michael,

about why you establish that, what you wanted to accomplish with that and how it's grown now to back these major projects, like remorse. Yeah, I think in the beginning, you know, starting my own production company kind of sparked from my time on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, you know, being around, you know,

Peter Bird, you know, Sarah Arbery, you know, and Jason Katham and kind of, you know, Pete was left. Like, you know, one day you're going to get tired of, like, waiting for the phone to call. You know, you just got to start owning things and creating your own IP and ownership, ownership, ownership. And I was like, you know, at that young age, I just started, you know, thinking about creating things, you know, creating opportunities for others. You know, I've been extremely blessed to have a, you know, a fruitful career thus far. And I want to, you know, you got to pay that forward, you know.

So to be able to, like, create, have a production company who, you know, can shine a light on stories that maybe normally wouldn't get told, you know, and also, you know, normalize, you know, films and filmmakers and building around talent that maybe wouldn't have gotten a shot or opportunity. You know, I want to be the tip of the spear in that type of way and not create those opportunities for them. And you put riders in the deals where you have to have a certain level of inclusivity in terms of who works on the movie, which is an amazing piece of leverage that a handful of, of stars, I would think, could bring to a project. Yeah, the inclusion writer, you know, that mandate kind of was inspired by Francis

McDormant, you know, a few years ago during her famous, you know, Oscar speech. And I was, you know, in the audience and I heard it. I was, oh, man, okay, there's something, you know, in writing that we can actually, you know, put into play. I was like, okay, cool. So, and that was something that, you know, we, you know, my team, started to build upon and we made that, you know, part of our, you know, our company policy. And that's something that, you know, just kind of, you know, tries to, you know, raise the accountability, you know, of partners with outlier society. And it's been very successful. It's been adopted on every project thus far since we put that in place. And we'll continue to

do so moving forward. So it's, yeah, it's definitely something I'm proud of. And, you know, we're taking steps in the right direction. A long way to go, a lot of work to do. But I think if we continue to lead by example, and, you know, one step, one foot in front of the other, you know, when it's all sitting done, we'll look up and be like, okay, you know, we did something. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Michael B. Jordan right after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down Podcast. Now more of my conversation with Michael B. Jordan. It's funny to hear you talk about the people you looked up to growing up.

And I'm thinking back to your youth, your childhood in Newark, New Jersey, and how you got from where you were in Newark to modeling and acting. What was the leap for you? How did that young kid at 11 years old hop into modeling? And eventually that was sort of the road to show business. It was my mom. You know, my mom really got me into it. She, you know, randomly, you know, at a doctor's appointment, the receptionist had two little boys who were, you know, you're in the industry, you know, that were models at the time.

And it was like, you know, you should bring, you know, your sons with you too, you know, with me and, you know, crashed this audition. I crashed this audition and ended up booking it. Got in trouble because I didn't have any representation or whatever the case is. And then, and honestly, you know, the rest was history. You know, had a backstage newspaper down at Penn Station, randomly looked up a manager that took out an ad, you know, for open calls, went in, audition. She signed me that day, and we were going out on, you know, go-sees and auditions and stuff at, you know, 10, 11, 12. And then it just, you know, one small success to another, one stepping stone to another one, I just kind of, you know, one stepping stone to another one. I just kind of just kept going.

Sometimes you just got to like walk your path. You know, you don't really know where it's going to end up. And then you start to learn and you get to another level and you assess and you learn and you build and your confidence and you continue to grow and just figure it out. And it just kind of always been like following my gut and my intuition. But, you know, I credit my mom for sure of getting me started and pushing me where I am. Was that even on your radar though, Michael as a kid? I know you love sports. You're a good athlete.

Was that something that you thought of like, oh, maybe. maybe someday I'll try actor. Was it just that out of the blue? Out of the blue. No, it was no thought at all, honestly. I was enjoying, you know, sports and just hanging out with my friends and, you know, just living. You know, you're a kid at that point. I mean, I guess some kids know exactly what they want to do at a young age, but I always loved, you know, you know, animation and movies and television shows.

You know, I was always entertained by that. So it was just, I guess, it was a natural evolution. Most people point to your performance on the wire as sort of the breakthrough playing Wallace. How big of that? How big a deal was that in your life and your career? Did that give you the taste of, okay, I think I can do this for a living? Yeah, that was when I really fell in love with acting. That's when I was around, you know, a lot of veteran actors that, you know, like, you know,

Idges Elba, you know, Dominic West, J.D. Williams, Andre Royal. Like, those guys really sat me down and had conversations with me on set. And it was like, hey, you can, this could be a career for you, you know, if you continue to, you know, if you're serious about it and you really, you really keep working at it. And that was when I first started to like, you know, really look at it differently than just, oh, I'm getting out of school and I can, you know, and I'm, you know, like, oh, just, yeah, I just looked at it more as a business, that type of way. way. And then from then, falling in love with acting, you know, just was my thing. And then a crazy connection on all my children where you actually replaced Chadwick Bozeman, who would become one of your great friends. What was that experience like on all my children? Yeah, I mean, that's where the work ethic kicked in. You know, we would do so many

episodes a week, you know, and just like, we were just like, you know, we would crank them out. It was a lot, you know, you always had to be prepared. So I think that's where I really got my acting. school. You know, I think that was when I really kind of started to get my reps in, I guess, as an actor. And, you know, in hindsight, you know, I was, you know, with Chadwick of it all, when we first kind of, you know, first, first met. Yeah, that's a swout, swout. Yeah, I mean, when you think about what came for you guys later with one of the biggest movies in the history of Hollywood and Black Panther, to build that relationship coming off of all my children, And it's got to be crazy.

What did he mean to you as a friend? No, I mean, you know, he's a special person. And it's, you know, it's a tragic loss, you know, for all of us. You know, for me, you know, our community, you know, yeah, it's, we're still dealing with it. You know, I think we're still processing. You know, I think it comes in waves. But, you know, his legacy that he left behind, the impact that he's made on so many, you know, people around the world, you know, his family, he lives forever, you know.

You know, he has an incredible body of work to be able to, you know, that we can reminisce and, you know, get a chance to, you know, see pieces of him. But he's still with us, you know what I mean? His, he's still around. So he motivates and inspires me. So it's cool. Where you guys, I interviewed Chadwick right in the middle of Black Panther Mania. I think you guys had just come back from South Korea or something.

And he just plopped down across and was like, just on this whirlwind as the movie was catching fire. Could you guys believe in that moment, not just how big it was at the box office, but what a cultural force it had become around the world? I mean, I think we were at that point, we were constantly taking it in from city to city, from country to country, you know, really like, wow, okay, this is the reaction that we're getting from people, you know, the kids, the, you know, it's really all about the children. and the kids, man, to see those looks on their faces of admiration and just, you know, and, you know, just happiness and, oh, wow, like, just to know that type of impact we're making was, uh, was really special. You know, a time of my life, I'll never forget. So it was, it was a lot of fun. For what it's worth, my kids still say your line when you took the mask from the museum, you said, no, I'm just feeling it. I just want this. They still drop that around the house. Oh, man, that's cool. See, stuff like that is cool, man. That's, that's what it's all about.

They just drop it in. Am I right in reading your story, Michael, that before Friday Night Lights, when you'd gone out to L.A., it was a bit of a struggle for you, even with the success of the wire and the other things you'd done, that you were wondering whether or not maybe this was the right thing and you even considered going back home to Jersey? Yeah, you know, yeah. You know, nothing's guaranteed, right? So even with the successes of, you know, the Wire and, you know, all my children and all that good stuff, you know, there's a lot of talented actors out there. You know, there's a lot that don't, you know, for whatever reason, kind of make it over that hump, you know. And that show, The Wire kind of, in real time, it wasn't as popular as it was after the show was over. So, you know, doors started opening up.

The right people were watching the shows that I was doing, you know. So slowly things started to catch on. But at first, when I got out here, you know, it's life of an actor. You know, you're trying to, you know, you try to put a string of jobs together where you can, like, you know, survive and stay out here long enough until you can actually figure out what your career is going to be or what projects you can actually, you know, live off of, you know. So I think, you know, in the beginning, you know,

I just knew there was a, I had a threshold as a moment, right? But it's so crazy. Like, you know, they say, like, right, when you get ready to quit, you know, that's the moment. If you just keep going a little bit further, you would have, you'd have made it, you know? So it's a little bit of that, you know, you had that doubt for whatever reason. You just continue to push through and, you know, and here I am. So it's, uh, obviously I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. Yeah, not everybody who does well on a TV show keeps pushing, though. You know, sometimes that's the moment in time and that's the thing they did. but you kept going with Fruitvale and with Creed and all these films.

At what point did you feel like you were a movie actor, really? Because you had success in television. When did you feel like, okay, now this is my thing. I'm in movies? You know, Fruitville for me was the first time that I, you know, they answered a lot of questions as far as like carrying a film, you know, in a movie. But, you know, I still, you know, it's a, I'm a real chill. guy, you know what I'm saying? So sometimes I got to, you know, I got to remind myself, you know what I'm saying, of, you know, the blessings and I

accomplishments that I've had thus far that, but yeah, it's a, I don't believe my own hype. I don't drink the Kool-A, you know what I'm saying? I just do the work, man, and try to tell honest stories. And I'm happy that, you know, I'm able to make an impact on people and, like, people enjoy watching my work, you know, and I continue to kind of have that attitude and point of view on it, you know? And part of that progression now is you're going to direct Creed 3, which is amazing. Your directorial debut, I know you're being directed as we speak by Denzel Washington. Is he giving you any pointers on how to do this? Yeah, everybody is, man.

I'll be a fool not to listen to, you know, like the greats, you know, and Denzel has so many gems and wisdoms to give. So, yeah, man, I'm looking forward to telling the story and finally step behind the camera. I feel like I've been in my head secretly, you know, observing from that type of perspective for a long time and, you know, waiting for the right thing or the right opportunity, you know, the right story to be able to tell. And I can't think of a better one than Adonis and Crete. So I'm really, I'm really excited about this. Is that going to be a tough thing to do where you've got to see 360 degrees of the film and then all of a sudden you've got to grease up and get in the ring? Yeah, I think it's going to be done. I mean, it's going to be challenging.

You know what I mean? That's just what it is. But I look forward to it, you know. It's something that, you know, I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. I don't think you're never fully ready for it. But I'm a jump in the deep end type of guy. So, you know, here we go. It's funny to hear you say you are a chill guy and you don't get swept up

and all the things that have come your way. So how do you react when something like people's sexiest man alive comes to you? Oh, man. Hey, look, just smile and enjoy it. Trust me, I got enough people around me, my friends and family who give me enough that, you know what I mean? It's, you know, they keep me, they keep me pretty grounded and humble. But it's all fun. You know, it's a big target.

Imagine all the group chats. Everything that you do is because sex is made a lot. It's like, yeah, okay, it's annoying after a while. I imagine on one hand, it's an honor. On the other hand, you go, oh, I'm going to hear from everybody. Exactly. I mean, my mom and my aunties, you know, and all my, you know, all my, like, you know, all the women in my family is, it's gold. You know, everybody else, it's a tart. It does seem to me, though, over the last few years, you've become more comfortable with the celebrity thing.

Is that fair to say? You've been more open with your private life and you're in love right now and you've been very open about that. Are you, is it easier for you to kind of let that wall down a little bit? You mean, I think, you know, just understanding the industry and all the things that come along with it, you know, it's not all glitter and gold. And it's, you know, it's a, it's a transition, you know, but still very private, you know, still, you know, keep a lot of, you know, stuff to myself, you know, but there's certain areas of my life that, you know, I chose to put out there more of a way to be like, all right, it's there. Now we go and move on, right? And just continue to. Like, yeah, like, we can move on. Like, it doesn't have to be the, the, the, the, the, the, the private eye trying to dig and find out what's the every little thing. So, but yeah, I'm happy, man. And it's a, and I probably always will, you know, keep, keep that part of my life.

You know, I'm saying, to myself. But, but it's, you know, nobody's hot in anything. Well, that's interesting that you say that because a lot of people notice that with Lori, you've kind of gone on Instagram, and it sounds like it's a bit of a strategy to demystify it. Not a strategy, man. It's just more or less like this is what it is and all right, let's keep it moving. Like it's, that's, I mean, that's really it, man. Yeah. Well, I appreciate your time. The film without remorse is incredible. We didn't get around to

the rival with Berenger in Newark, but we'll hit that next time. We'll get that on the next one. All right. Michael, thanks for the time. Congrats. I appreciate it, man. Thank you. My big thanks to Michael for a great conversation for spending some time with me. We figured we'd spare you the Northern New Jersey high school sports conversation. Not of general interest, as my mother used to say at the dinner table. Michael's new movie

Without Remorse is streaming now on Amazon Prime. And my thanks to all of you for tuning in this week. If you want to hear more of the conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click subscribe, so you never miss an episode. And of course, don't forget to tune into Sunday today

every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.