10 Facts About Top Actor Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Majors has a fitting name because the multi-faceted actor has become a ‘major’ deal in Hollywood as one of the industry’s most sought-after leading men and a fan favorite. Though it may seem like the stars aligned, Majors’ ascension to the A-List wasn’t by luck or happenstance. Since his onscreen six years ago, Majors has been in the trenches, playing nuanced characters that display his incredible range.
There’s no doubt he is a generational talent that can light up a screen, but many want to know more about who Majors is when the cameras are off.
Here are 10 facts about top actor Jonathan Majors.
1. Jonathan Majors is a California native who was raised in Texas.
According to a report by the Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Majors was born in 1989 in Lompoc, California, to parents who were natives of Texas. He spent his early years at Vandenberg Space Force Base because his father was in the military.
After his father disappeared, his mother moved him and his siblings back to Dallas, Texas, to raise them.
2. Majors said he had a challenging childhood.
In his interview with THR, Majors shared some personal details about his life. He recalled some of the challenges he faced growing up.
“Our father, who loved us dearly, just kind of disappeared one day and he resurfaced 17 years later,” Majors told THR. He also said his mom was “really good at keeping us safe” in a neighborhood he described as “a scary environment.”
“Me and my brother used to play a game where we used to see a Cadillac DeVille drive by, and we would run into a ditch and hide, as to not get shot up,” Majors recalled. “The other game we would play: Me and my friends would be walking around and we’d scream ‘Cops!’ and you run around and jump over the nearest fence to get away from the cops. That was the day-to-day. It was crazy, it was fun, but it was also a scary environment.”
Despite his mother’s protection and guidance, Majors said he began to get into trouble. He grew up around neighbors who were more well-off than his family, and they didn’t let Majors forget it. “I found myself getting into fights, being bullied, and then retaliating,” Majors said.
Shoplifting and in-school suspensions preceded Majors being kicked out of the house at age 14, during which he worked two restaurant jobs and lived in his car.
3. He became interested in theatre as a teen.
The theatre was Majors’ saving grace. In the midst of his struggles, a 14-year-old Majors found solace and safety in acting.
“The one thing that was consistent from the age of 14 to that time was that I was in the theater,” Majors said, noting he had “that emotionality, that impulsivity, that need to connect.”
“I just wanted to be in the world and be a part of it. Institutions are tough for me. Hollywood is tough for me,” he added.
4. Jonathan Majors is the son of a pastor.
Majors’ mother is a pastor who earned her divinity degree while raising he and his siblings as a single mother. He credits her with instilling the value of serving others in him.
5. He went on to study acting in college.
Majors graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama. However, he rejects being put into a box because of his studies and gives real-life experience as much credit for his success as his education.
“There’s no such thing as a classically trained actor,” Majors said. “It just means that you have the tools. It means you’ve put in the time. There is no cookie-cutter to it. Some of us, for a fact, have had adventurous lives pre-Yale or before making a cool film.”
6. Jonathan Majors has a daughter named Ella.
If you want to see Jonathan Majors beam with pride, wait for the topic of his fatherhood to come up. Majors had his daughter before attending Yale, though her mother’s identity has been kept under wraps for privacy purposes.
Majors has disclosed that Ella’s mother is of a different race and shared some life lessons he’s taught his baby girl thus far. One included Ella being frustrated about the texture of her hair and why it didn’t “fall down” like other girls.
“You have a crown. That’s why your hair goes up. Your hair, your crown, came from daddy, came from his mama, came from his father, came from his sister,” Majors said he told her. “Sometimes that crown can get you in trouble in this world, and it’s not right. And some people want to take that crown from you.”
He also admitted when he became a parent, he realized there was no blueprint for how to be a good one.
“Whatever you think it’s going to be, it’s probably not going to be that. I experienced that when my daughter was coming. I’m thinking, ‘Okay, I’m getting ready to become a dad.’ But then you become a dad, and it’s like … there’s no game plan for this,” Majors said.
Ella is nine-years-old.
7. His ‘big break’ came two years after Majors’ onscreen debut in a starring role.
Majors portrayed gay rights activist Ken Jones in the ABC miniseries “When We Rise” in 2017 while he was still at Yale, People reported. In 2019, he played in the acclaimed independent film, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” His turn as Montgomery Allen earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
Afterward, Majors appeared in a slew of other popular series and films including: HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” the Jay-Z-produced Netflix film, “The Harder They Fall,” Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Creed III” and others.
8. He starred in the No. 1 and No. 2 movies at the box office.
The year is off to an excellent start for Majors. He had starring roles in two of the year’s most anticipated films, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Creed III.” The movies were No. 1 and No. 2 at the box office simultaneously during Creed’s opening weekend (March 3).
Variety reported that the latter broke several records, including having the largest domestic opening for a sports movie and topping all other films in the franchise.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told Variety such a feat is extremely rare.
“As rare as a unicorn sighting, landing the box office gold and silver medal in the same weekend puts any actor in a very exclusive club, as it is extraordinary for the cinematic planets to align in this way,” Dergarabedian said. “Jonathan Majors now joins this rarefied group with this incredible one-two punch at the box office.”
9. Jonathan Majors has a very public bromance with close friend Michael B. Jordan.
Jonathan Majors and his “Creed III” director and co-star Michael B. Jordan may be rivals onscreen, but they’re extremely close friends in real life. In addition to the natural camaraderie the duo had in working on and promoting the film, Majors expressed how much the actor and newly-minted director means to him during his speech when Jordan received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“He’s held that contract up so deeply and so fully and it breaks my heart with so much joy and satisfaction to call you my friend, brother,” Majors said, referring to when he and Jordan decided to be friends.
10. Majors carefully selects his roles and feels he has an important obligation as a Black male actor.
In an interview with the New York Times, Majors said he’s turned down roles if they didn’t align with his mission.
“There is a certain amount of meditation when I look at an entire project. I have seen films where I go, ‘Guys, you did not help us one bit,'” Majors said. “It’s okay if your intention is to make your money and survive as an individual. My agenda, my mission is just a bit different.”