Look! "Black Panther" Actor Michael B. Jordan Is People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive For 2020
Get to know the Hollywood star!
Practice your Wakanda salutes because you're going to be making a lot of them!
Michael B. Jordan, who skyrocketed to fame in 2018's Black Panther, is officially People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2020. He follows the leads of John Legend, Idris Elba, and Blake Shelton who previously held the exciting title in recent years and boy is he making heads turn.
He didn't just earn the title thanks to his dashing good looks (and the body that goes with them), but he's also actually been doing a ton of behind the scenes work in addressing the issue of racial diversity in Hollywood and is a passionate advocate of racial justice and equality in America, even making a speech in a Black Lives Matter protest.
Michael B. Jordan was once an under the radar actor, underrated in many ways, but we're hoping that mainstream recognition like this finally gets him the attention he deserves.
Get to know People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2020 in a quick primer below, featuring five quick facts on Michael B. Jordan!
About Michael B. Jordan
About Michael B. Jordan
Body of work
The 33-year-old actor made his big screen debut in 1999 in a tiny role on "The Sopranos" and his fame has grown exponentially since! You likely know him best from "Black Panther," the Marvel Studios film where he starred alongside the late Chadwick Boseman and played Erik Killmonger, a.k.a. the enemy to the Black Panther himself. Outside of the superhero universe, Michael has enjoyed praise for his other notable works in films like "Fruitvale Station," "Creed," and "Fahrenheit 451" plus shows "The Wire," "Parenthood" and "Friday Night Lights." He's mostly a drama actor, so you'll find him playing tear-jerking roles more often than not.
Family background
Surprise - he's not related to the basketball legend! That's actually why he includes the initial to his middle name (which stands for Bakari, by the way) to differentiate himself from the NBA icon. His family is a lot more low-key than that; his mom was a counselor at a school (and he went to the same school) while his dad was an ordinary Joe himself.
Humble beginnings
He wasn't a child star, like how many Hollywood celebs start out, but he did get his first taste of working in front of a camera as a model for print ads and TV commercials. Growing up, he thought he was going to find fame as an athlete; he was a pretty good basketball player and believed that sports were the way for him. At 12 years old, he got his acting break and a preteen Michael surprisingly performed better than expected. He caught the attention of all the right people in the industry and was consistently cast in projects in the early 2000s and he's never looked back.
Growing up
Many of Michael's roles tell the stories of troubled young men having to choose between a path that leads to no good and another that's narrower and less taken, albeit better in the end. It's a reflection of his real-life experiences as a teenager growing up in New Jersey; he's admitted to previously running with crowds that peddled drugs and engaged in theft, but it was thanks to his family support system that he was able to turn his back on all of that.
A sought-after model
Even with a blossoming acting career, Michael continues to work with several luxury labels as a testament to his beginnings as a model. He's had his fair share of magazine covers, too! He's appeared on the covers of People Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, GQ, Wonderland, Variety, TIME, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Wall Street Journal.
Photos from @people @michaelbjordan
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