Jonathan Majors - From a petty thief to Marvel's most dangerous villain, almost lost his chance to play Kang

The movie "Ant-Man and the Wasp: The Quantum Realm" is bombarding the global box office, giving wings to the name of Jonathan Majors (the villain Kang the Conqueror) - who has the most impressive performance in the film.

Adolescent 'hands dipped in indigo'

Born in 1989, Jonathan grew up in a working-class family, living in a military area in Texas where his father was in the US Air Force. When he was 9, his father suddenly left, leaving his single mother as a pastor to raise three children. Life is not well off, his mother tries every day to nurture and protect the family. Several times, she had to donate blood just to have money for Jonathan's lunch.

That hardship created a rebellious Jonathan Majors. When he saw that the children around him had opportunities and he did not, Jonathan fell into the path of crime. As an adult, he was arrested for stealing and fighting to the point of being suspended from school. He was also kicked out of the house, had to live in a car, while still trying to work at two restaurants at the same time.

Wake up thanks to Joker

Jonathan Majors once oriented himself to be a rugby player. However, in his sophomore year of high school, he was expelled and transferred to another educational setting. Here, the actor had the opportunity to interact with the books of Agatha Christie, Shakespeare and August Wilson. He is interested in bringing to life the sayings and actions in stories. Since then, he was determined to embark on the acting path.

At that stage, the theater was the place where the actor found safety. He was driven by intense emotions here and realized he wanted to be a part of this world. While watching the late Heath Ledger portray the Joker in The Dark Knight, Jonathan realized many connections to himself.

Living in an environment of drug dealers,... Jonathan Majors understands the complexities of the psychology of criminals. Therefore, when he saw Heath Ledger demonstrate the moral struggle in the gray area of good and evil on the big screen, he was inspired. The actor considers it the most important moment in his youth.

He enrolled at the North Carolina College of the Arts - America's first public art academy. During the holidays, Jonathan takes extra acting courses outside to hone his skills. After graduating, he went on to study Drama at Yale University. Here, the actor found his first opportunities.

In his final year of school, Jonathan was selected to participate in the television series When We Rise - a film about the formation of the LGBTQ movement in the US in the late 1960s. According to Yale's regulations, students are not allowed to accept any projects. during training. However, due to the recognition of Jonathan's potential, efforts and outstanding performance, the school made an exception.

In When We Rise, Jonathan Majors plays Ken Jones - a gay Navy officer. In order to best prepare for the role, the actor worked hard to find a real-life model, showing his curiosity from the beginning of his career. When the film aired, Jonathan's mother received many objections from the congregation because her son played a gay role. However, Jonathan remained steadfast in his choice. His ideal is to convey the story and message about the place of the black community in American society.

Sublimation on the screen

After graduation, the actor had the opportunity to act with Christian Bale in Hostiles 2017 and Matthew McConaughey in White Boy Rick in 2018. But in 2019, the name of Jonathan Majors was really noticed through the movie The Last Black Man in. San Francisco.

Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the work received many positive reviews from the audience and experts. The film revolves around two people of color struggling to hold on to traditional values in the midst of an ever-evolving city. Former US President Obama once ranked the work on the list of the best films of 2019.

Jonathan Majors plays Mont, a playwright. With gentleness and sincerity, he occupied the entire frame and was considered to break the image of extreme black people on the screen. For this role, the actor was nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" at the Independent Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards. He was also awarded the "New Generation" award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).

The success of The Last Black Man in San Francisco helped Jonathan into the eyes of many directors, including Spike Lee. The director actively invited him to participate in a film shot in Vietnam for Netflix, starring the late actor Chadwick Boseman and veteran actor Delroy Lindo.

Subsequent projects such as The Harder They Fall and Devotion were both praised by critics. The actor also increased his recognition when he starred in the Lovecraft Country series invested and produced by JJ Abrams and Jordan Peele. Vogue magazine called Jonathan "the core of the series' emotions".

Long road with the Marvel Cinematic Universe

In September 2020, Jonathan Majors was announced to play Kang the Conqueror - the most dangerous villain in the history of Marvel comics. Not only appearing in a single movie, Kang is determined to follow Thanos to become the main villain throughout the new era of the MCU.

Kang is a character with many variations. In the Loki series, Kang in the form of He Who Remains is full of grace, creating a lot of sympathy. However, the variation in Ant-Man 3 is extremely cruel. Jonathan thinks this is an opportunity for him to try out multiple personalities in the same character, as well as change the stereotype that Hollywood often imposes on actors of color.

Ant-Man 3 director Peyton Reed said Jonathan Majors was the producer's only choice. Reed shared that he admires the actor's talent and personality through his previous works and that having Jonathan is like a dream.

Few people know that Jonathan Majors once thought the role of Kang would never belong to him. Because right from the first negotiation and casting, the actor planned to leave because he was forced to wait too long. However, everything went very smoothly after that, and Jonathan Majors quickly became fascinated as he discovered more and more new aspects of this character. However, this is also an opportunity for the actor's name to be known to audiences around the world.

In 2023, besides the blockbuster Ant-Man 3, Jonathan Majors also contributed to the independent work Magazine Dreams and Creed III, a spin-off of the movie about the legendary boxer Rocky. Both films have not yet been released to the public. But after the first screenings, experts are highly appreciative of Jonathan's acting, promising the actor's potential in many genres of film.

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