DUBAI: American actor and singer Jaafar Jackson appeared on the cover of GQ Middle East’s September issue, photographed in Versace.
The 30-year-old son of Jermaine Jackson played the late singer in “Michael,” the biopic directed by American filmmaker Antoine Fuqua that opened in Saudi cinemas on April 22, two days ahead of its US release. It passed $1 billion at the box office in July.
For the cover, he wore a long black Versace coat with red contrast lapels, worn open over a black pinstriped suit with a white shirt and a printed tie.
In the interview, Jackson said he had studied archival footage and his uncle’s journals in preparation.
He was five when he realized his family’s fame, watching the Jackson 5 reunite at Madison Square Garden.
He said the experience had ended his own musical ambitions. “I experienced the best I could experience as an artist on a stage as Michael. Me doing it as Jaafar would just feel weird,” he told the magazine.
He said he now wanted roles that required him “to transform,” citing Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joaquin Phoenix.
He is due to return for the sequel, “Michael 2,” which Lionsgate has in development.
