10 THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT
HUNKY Michael B. Jordan has fought his way to the top of the Hollywood heap and scored roles in Black Panther and the Creed film franchise. This month, he’s leaping back into the ring as the title character in Creed III — the latest installment of the Rocky spinoff, which also marks the leading man’s directorial debut. Though Jordan, 36, admits feeling “pretty anxious going into it,” he calls the experience of managing his own performance “liberating.” Here are ten things you don’t know about the musclebound movie bruiser.
1 His middle name is Bakari.
2 He uses the initial B professionally to differentiate him from Chicago Bulls basketball legend Michael Jordan.
3 During his New Jersey childhood, he worked as a model for a local sporting goods chain and Toys ‘R’ Us.
4 He earned his first acting credit at age 12 — in a season-one episode of The Sopranos.
5 In March 2003, he joined the cast of the ABC soap All My Children as Reggie Montgomery, replacing Chadwick Boseman — his future Black Panther screen nemesis.
6 He’s a fan of anime, and some of his favorite series are Bleach and Naruto.
7 He didn’t use a body double to play boxer Adonis “Donnie” Creed in the 2015 installment and confides fight scenes left him “routinely bloodied, bruised and dizzy.”
8 He voiced soldier Jace Stratton in the 2011 video game Gears of War 3.
9 He bought his parents a home in Sherman Oaks in 2016 and lived with them for three years until he got his own place — 20 minutes away.
10 Michael is partowner of English soccer club AFC Bournemouth.