Michael B. Jordan has been popping up everywhere, and his rise to mega-stardom shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The Fantastic Four star has been toiling at acting since he was a kid, so with major roles such as Fruitvale Station and That Awkward Moment now under his belt, Jordan finds himself reflecting on those early days. In a recent interview with Dujour magazine, he talks about working at the age of 12 opposite a then-revered Bill Cosby.
Describing the sitcom star as intimidating and motivating, Jordan says Cosby taught him a lot on set. (It appears that the mag didn't grill Jordan about his thoughts on Cosby now.)
"He commanded that set; that was his show," Jordan says, referring to the late-'90s sitcom Cosby. "He demanded a professionalism from everyone." Cosby taught him to how to embody his character, a trick that taught him about unparalleled dedication, no matter the cost.
"He gave me a tick," Jordan recalls in Dujour. "[He said], 'You care about your hair. You love your hair. You brush your hair nonstop all day. That's what you do.' And I was like 'alright, got it.' So I brushed my hair. And you're shooting this thing for hours. Imagine brushing your hair until your scalp is raw."
Jordan walked away learning how far he'd go for a role, no matter how small or large his part might be. Seeing as he played a struggling addict on Parenthood and a troubled teen on All My Children and The Wire, the lesson stuck with him. But while he has played rough-and-tumble characters in the past, he doesn't want his fans to confuse him with his onscreen characters.
"It's so weird, people think they know me based on my character, and I've played some pretty good guys," he says. "I think I'm a good guy, but I have my moments—I'm not a saint at all."
He might say he's "not a saint," but girls everywhere would probably swoon at his stance on relationships! Looking to his parents as role models, Jordan says, "My family environment growing up is very much what I want eventually. It gives me hope and a longing for something more than the surface kind of relationships that you have so much. I always use them as a gauge."
He also tells Dujour, "They were 28 or 29 when they got married. So I have a year… But unless something dramatic goes down, I don't see that happening."
You never know!
For more photos, plus more from Michael's interview, check out Dujour.com