Jonathan Majors

Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989) is an American actor. After graduating from Yale University with a Master of Fine Arts in acting, Majors rose to prominence for starring in the independent feature film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). In 2020 he gained wider notice for starring in the HBO television series Lovecraft Country, for which he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Majors has since portrayed Nat Love in the western The Harder They Fall (2021), Jesse L. Brown in the war film Devotion (2022), and antagonist Dame Anderson in the sports film Creed III (2023). Since 2021, he has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as different iterations of Kang the Conqueror.
Early life
Majors was born in Santa Barbara County, California, and spent his early years living with his mother, who is a pastor, his older sister, and younger brother on the Vandenberg military base, as his father was in the US Air Force. In 2020, Majors said "Our father, who loved us dearly, just kind of disappeared one day ... and he resurfaced 17 years later." Majors has since reconnected with his father. The family moved around various cities in Texas, including Dallas, Georgetown, and Cedar Hill. He attended Cedar Hill High School and graduated from Duncanville High School in 2008.
Majors has described himself as having had a "difficult" childhood, growing up with drug dealers and murderers for neighbors who wore ankle monitors on their release from prison. As a teenager, Majors was arrested for shoplifting, suspended from high school for fighting, and lived in his car while working two jobs after being kicked out of his house. He eventually found a "safe space" in the world of theatre, where he found some solace and joined after watching Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, in which he felt Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker to resemble the criminals with moralistic dualities he grew up with for his complexity of good and evil, leading him to become an actor so he could inspire others like Ledger did to him.
Majors studied for his bachelor's degree at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and later attended the Yale School of Drama; he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2016.
Career
Majors secured his first onscreen role in the ABC miniseries When We Rise while still a student at Yale. In the series, Majors portrayed real-life gay activist Ken Jones; as part of his research for the role, he met with Jones before playing him. That same year, Majors appeared in his first feature film role as Corporal Henry Woodson in the revisionist Western film Hostiles, written and directed by Scott Cooper. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017. It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017. More roles followed, in the 2018 films White Boy Rick and Out of Blue. Both of these films screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, with the latter competing for the Platform Prize.
In 2019, Majors rose to prominence after starring in Joe Talbot's critically acclaimed independent feature film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. It was released by A24 in the United States on June 7, 2019. Former President of the United States Barack Obama rated it as one of the best films of 2019. Majors's performance was praised by critics: Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called his performance "a mournful heartbreaker", while Rolling Stone described his turn as "both deeply sensitive and charmingly left-of-center". Majors also appeared in three other 2019 film releases: Captive State, Gully, and Jungleland.
In 2020, Majors starred alongside Chadwick Boseman and Delroy Lindo in Spike Lee's war drama film Da 5 Bloods, which was released on Netflix. That year, he also garnered wider notice for portraying Atticus Freeman in the HBO television series Lovecraft Country. His performance in Lovecraft Country was favorably reviewed by critics; Vogue dubbed him "the emotional core of the show". Majors debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Loki as "He Who Remains". In 2021, Majors starred as the lead actor in Jeymes Samuel's directorial debut film The Harder They Fall, acting alongside Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King and Delroy Lindo. In 2023, he starred in Magazine Dreams and co-starred alongside Michael B. Jordan in Creed III. He portrayed Kang the Conqueror and several other variants of the character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki season 2. He is also set to appear in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Personal life
Majors has one daughter.
Assault allegations
On March 25, 2023, Majors was arrested on assault, strangulation and harassment charges, stemming from a domestic dispute with a thirty-year-old woman, who "sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition", according to the NYPD. He was released from custody that day, and his spokesperson denied the allegations, saying Majors "has done nothing wrong … We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up." On March 26, Majors was arraigned in the New York City Criminal Court on charges including assault, attempted assault, harassment, and aggravated harassment in connection to the arrest.
Majors' attorney Priya Chaudhry revealed that there were "two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations". On March 30, Chaudhry released text messages allegedly sent by the woman. One message included remarks that: "They said they had to arrest you as protocol when they saw the injuries on me, and they knew we had a fight. I'm so angry that they did. And I'm sorry you're in this position. Will make sure nothing happens about this. I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone. I only just got out of hospital", while another message included: "I reiterated how this was not an attack and they do not have my blessing on any charges being placed. I read the paper they gave me about strangulation, and I said point blank this did not occur and should be removed immediately."
Following the first allegation, a report in Variety stated Majors is a suspect in multiple cases of assault and abuse. Several alleged victims have reportedly come forward and are cooperating with the New York District Attorney's office. One of the alleged victims was granted temporary order of protection by a judge against Majors ahead of a May 9 court date.
In the initial wake of the incident, the United States Army announced they were suspending recruiting commercials that starred Majors. In a statement released to the public, the Army said, "While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete."
Several weeks after his arrest, Majors was dropped as a client by both the management company Entertainment 360 and the public relations firm the Lede Company. Majors was expected to star in and executive produce an upcoming adaptation of the Walter Mosley novel The Man in My Basement, but he was cut from the film and his role will be re-cast. Majors' invitation to the 2023 Met Gala was rescinded and he was removed from the Texas Rangers ad campaign.
Major's alleged victim was later identified as his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. Security footage of Jabbari following the alleged incident was later admitted as evidence to clear Majors of any physical violence, it is claimed Jabbari appears unharmed in the footage. This is refuted by the prosecution who state "surveillance video referred to by the defense actually shows Ms. Jabbari visibly upset, crying, and seeking help from strangers to get an Uber cab home".
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards
Notes
References
External links
1989 births
21st-century American male actors
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Dallas
People from Santa Barbara County, California
University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people
2023 controversies in the United States