Nia Long & Colman Domingo On The Family Behind ‘Michael’

When a film dares to take on someone as iconic as Michael Jackson, you already know the conversation is going to be bad in the best way possible. But Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua, isn’t just here to show off MJ’s moonwalk and countless hits—it’s pulling us all the way into the family, the pressure, and the making of a legend.

When MadameNoire sat down with Nia Long, Colman Domingo, and rising star Juliano Valdez, it was clear this wasn’t just another retelling. Under the direction of Fuqua, Michael doesn’t just revisit the performances we know by heart—it leans into the tension, tenderness, and transformation that shaped a global icon.

What unfolded in our conversation was equal parts reverence and realness, but also a surprising amount of humor, especially when it came to stepping into roles that required them to bend time, age, and expectation.

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When I joked that Nia didn’t seem “old enough to play nobody’s mama,” she didn’t miss a beat. “I actually am,” she said with a laugh, before grounding the role in something deeper. “Catherine was a young mother… you have to think about what women carried in the early ’60s. She had a lot of children, very young.” Then, with a wink to every black woman on the planet, she added, “Most importantly… we don’t age.”

That moment opened the door for playful banter between her and Domingo, who jumped in, mock-offended: “Wait a minute… you thought I was too old? I’m young and fun.” The exchange was light, but it underscored something essential about the film itself. This is a story about family, about dynamics, about how we see each other versus who we really are.

Domingo, who underwent hours in prosthetics to transform into Joe Jackson, spoke about the responsibility of portraying a man so often reduced to a single narrative. “We really wanted to shade a nuanced color of this family that we all think we know,” he said. “But now we get to get more into their interior lives… showing a different lens of Michael and the makings of Michael.”

And at the center of it all is the emotional push-and-pull between father and son—a tension the film doesn’t shy away from. “It wasn’t just a random spanking,” Domingo explained. “It was two people at odds… a parent trying to parent the only way he knows how, and a young Michael trying to find his voice.”

That emotional weight was something Juliano Valdez carried with him throughout filming, especially in the more difficult scenes. To portray those moments authentically, he said, he simply thought about the reality of Michael’s childhood. “He wanted to be a regular kid… but he didn’t get to do that because he was always rehearsing.”

Still, Michael isn’t just about pain—it’s about purpose, artistry, and legacy. And for Nia, that’s what she hopes audiences walk away with. “Michael was a humanitarian, an artist, a sensitive soul… someone who really cared.”

Michael is in theaters now. Watch the full interview above.

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