The actor Michael B. Jordan is a talented actor well on his way in becoming a Hollywood A-lister. You probably know him from his recent role of Black Panther in a 2018 action movie of the same name. Indeed, his performance in the Black Panther was amazing but by no means his only great film appearance.

Jordan has also appeared in films such as Red Tails, Chronicle, That Awkward Moment and Fantastic Four as well as TV series such as The Wire, All My Children and Friday Night Lights. All of his film performances were well received so it comes as no surprise that the actor has won numerous awards and award nominations, including Hollywood Film Awards and Black Reel awards.

While Jordan is certainly an amazingly talented actor who is bound to become very successful, there is more to the man than just his film roles. Below we have compiled a list of 15 interesting facts you may not have known about Jordan.

He Was Not Named After Michael Jordan And The “B” In His Name Stands For “Noble Promise” In Swahili

The actor’s full name is Michael B. Jordan but few know what the letter “B” in his name stands for. Indeed, the internet has convinced many fans that the “B” stands for “Bae” and while that may seem accurate given the actor’s sweet personality,

in reality the “B” stands for “Bakari”, which in Swahili means “promising” or “noble promise”.

Speaking of names, Jordan was not named after the basketball legend Michael Jordan, but rather after his dad Michael A. Jordan. The actor has confessed that he has never even met the basketball legend but apparently he uses the “B” in his name to distinguish himself from him.

Before He Became An Actor He Was A Child Model For Toys R Us

Michael B. Jordan was not always passionate about acting. Unlike many other successful Hollywood actors, who knew that they wanted to pursue acting since they were kids, Jordan actually started out as a child model. When you think about it, things could have gone a completely different way. Perhaps instead of seeing Jordan on the big screen we would be seeing Jordan in commercials and magazine adverts.

As a pre-teen, Jordan modeled for companies such as Toys R Us and Modell’s Sporting Goods. It was only after his agent asked if he’d be interested in acting that Jordan seriously considered it and decided to give it a shot. Things didn’t look promising at first but thankfully Jordan stuck at it until he made it.

His First Role Was On A Cosby Show

One of Jordan’s first acting roles was on Cosby, a sitcom that was produced by the comedian Bill Cosby and which was somewhat based on the popular British show One Foot in the Grave. At the time of his appearance on the show – he first appeared in an episode titled The Vesey Method - Jordan was 12 years old and played a boy named Michael.

Jordan recently revealed that he was both scared and excited to be on set of Cosby and that he found the man himself larger-than-life.

He said – “He commanded that set; that was his show. He demanded a professionalism from everyone. He gave me a tick. [He said], ‘You care about your hair. You love your hair. You brush your hair nonstop all day. That’s what you do.’ And I was like ‘alright, got it.’ So I brushed my hair. And you’re shooting this thing for hours. Imagine brushing your hair until your scalp is raw.”

He Made An Appearance On Sopranos

If you’re a fan of the TV show Sopranos then you’re bound to be surprised by this one – Michael B. Jordan actually appeared in one of the early episodes of the cult show!

Jordan appeared on the show in 1999 and played a character called Rideland Kid who, in Tony Soprano’s flashback, orders the young Tony to pick a wrapper he has just thrown down on to the ground. After Tony refuses to pick it up, Jordan and his two friends start chasing the young Tony. It’s a pity that Jordan was not a recurring character on the show but he was probably too young. Otherwise, we're sure that the producers of the show would have seen the potential!

He Can’t Grow A Full Beard

Who doesn’t love a man with a nice beard? Unfortunately, in a recent interview with Conan O’Brien Jordan admitted that he can’t grow a full beard.

Apparently, every time he tries, certain areas of his skin remain hair-free.

He said – “I can’t grow a beard. I can’t really connect... I mean, it’s a little patchy. [...] Don’t guys do everything for women for the most part? Yes. Everything revolves around [that]. During my research in my teenage years [I learned that] women like that little stubble, that new growth, that dangerous look. That you know, “he might choke me up.” I don’t know. [...] I couldn’t pull that look off.”

He Can Tap Dance

Michael B. Jordan is a man of many talents. Not only can he act and play basketball, he can also tap dance! In a recent interview with Huffington Post Jordan admitted that his mum made him take tap dancing classes.

Apparently, Jordan’s parents wanted to find his talents so they made him do lots of extracurricular activities, which he didn’t mind because it meant he could leave school early. 

“My mom got me started on lots of things and it just snowballed. They wanted to cater to my talents or find out the things that I liked or didn’t like. And I just started booking at a really young age; little small modeling jobs, to extra work, to background, to little commercials.”

He Admires Meryl Streep

Don’t you just love it when actors admire and praise other actors? We do too. Take Michael B. Jordan for example. When asked whom he admires the most in Hollywood in a recent interview, Jordan confessed that he adores the extremely talented actress Meryl Streep.

Jordan said – “Meryl Streep does it for me. She makes it look so easy that it’s like, is she trying right now? It’s so effortless it’s ridiculous.”

We admire Streep too but we have no doubt that in the future when a talented young actor will be asked the question "whom do you admire the most in Hollywood", the answer will be "Michael B. Jordan."

The Director Of Chronicle Was So Impressed With Jordan's Audition That He Ended Up Re-Writing The Lead Role For Him

Not every actor has the ability or talent to inspire the director to rewrite a role for him. But Michael B. Jordan did just that when he auditioned for a role in the 2012 thriller Chronicle.

Indeed, the director Josh Trank was so impressed with Jordan’s performance during the audition that he basically re-wrote the lead role, which was initially written for a white guy.

Jordan has said – “That role was originally for a white guy. I got it and they changed it. Those are the type of colorless roles that I want, that I’m looking forward to playing.”

He Loves Anime

Who knew that Michael B. Jordan loves anime? Apparently the actor collects manga and graphic novels and geeks out over anime on Twitter all the time. In addition, when asked to name his favorite country, Jordan immediately said it was Japan and added that “Anime... is the best”.

Of course, some criticized Jordan for his nerdy hobby and one man even tweeted – “Michael B. Jordan is a 5’9” Adult Man That Loves Anime & Lives With His Parents... Y’all Told Me All Of Those Things Were Unacceptable Though.”

Jordan tweeted back, saying – “First of All I’m 6ft and they live with ME, put some respeck on my name. LOL.... aaaand goku & naruto are real ones lol.”

He Lives With His Parents

As we briefly mentioned in the previous entry, Michael B. Jordan lives with his parents, or rather, his parents live with him. While some people thought this was a great living arrangement and one that is beneficial both to Jordan and his parents, many more people mocked the actor, saying that he is an “adult man that loves anime and lives with his parents.”

Of course Jordan immediately took to Twitter to clarify that his parents lived with him, and not the other way around.

He also said that their relationship is much different now than it was when he was a child – “I love my parents, but we have a roommate relationship right now, which is interesting. You get home-cooked meals, but then you also have random trips to the kitchen in the middle of the night. Just the random run-ins that just might be a little uncomfortable from time to time."

His Training Routine For Creed Was Intense

Michael B. Jordan played the role of Adonis Creed in the 2015 sports drama titled Creed, a role that required serious preparation, especially when it came to fitness levels. But Jordan was not daunted by the amount of training he had to do – “I was thrilled. I felt muscles I never knew I had.”

Jordan actually got some tips from Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky Balboa in the sports drama.

Jordan said – “He’s filled with wisdom. He really helped me find the authenticity in the ring and let me know when I shouldn’t hold back.”

But it wasn’t just Jordan’s exercise routine that changed, he also had to change his diet, opting for grilled chicken, brown rice, broccoli and of course, lots of water instead of his usual meals.

He Wrote An Essay Explaining Why It Was Okay For Him To Play Johnny Storm

When it was revealed that Michael B. Jordan was cast as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four reboot, people were not happy to say the least, mostly because of Jordan’s skin color. Many believed that Storm should be played by a white guy. Perhaps another actor would have chickened out. But not Jordan.

He picked up his pen and wrote an essay titled “Michael B. Jordan: Why I’m Torching The Colour Line.” It was published in Entertainment Weekly in 2015.

In the essay, Jordan wrote – “Some people may look at my casting as political correctness or an attempt to meet a racial quota, or as part of the year of ‘Black Film.’ Or they could look at it as a creative choice by the director, Josh Trank, who is in an interracial relationship himself — a reflection of what a modern family looks like today.”

He Appeared On Time’s “30 People Under 30 Changing The World”

There’s no denying that Michael B. Jordan is a talented actor and one on his way to becoming an A-lister. Thus, we were not at all surprised when he was included in the Time Magazine’s list “30 Under 30 Who Are Changing The World.”

It is believed that the role that landed him on Time’s world changers list was that of Oscar in Fruitvale Station. The film focused on the real life story of a 22-year-old black unarmed man who was shot at Fruitvale train station.

The part of Oscar was written specifically for Jordan who felt like he couldn't say no to it– "As an African-American man, I felt a responsibility to play this, and to tell that story; I had to.”

Acting Has Gotten In The Way Of His Romantic Life

In a recent interview Jordan admitted that his love life is quite empty because of his acting career and that he didn’t have a proper girlfriend until a few years ago. Apparently that’s because acting is quite time consuming.

But Jordan is no player and, according to him, he is always very honest with women – “I didn't even have a proper girlfriend until about a year ago. I was pretty emotionally unavailable, and just focused on what I needed to be focused on. Acting is very much a solo mission. But I was always brutally honest with females. I made it clear that I didn't have the time to really give a woman what she would need, beyond hanging out and ... you know …"

He Hasn't Always Been Successful In Landing Superhero Movie Roles

Failure doesn’t always mean that you’re not talented and it’s important to remember to never give up. Michael B. Jordan certainly knows this – even though he has recently played the role of Black Panther in the superhero film of the same name, he was actually turned down a couple of times after auditioning for similar roles.

For example, in 2014 Jordan lost the role of Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to the actor Dane DeHaan. That same year, he was also turned down for a role in the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Thankfully, he persevered!