Jaden Michael from Animation to Netflix and Beyond
17 year old actor and star of Netflix’s latest top ten series Vampires Jaden Michael is the kind of charming and authentic talent the world needs right now. Having been in the industry since the age of 2 Jaden has grown up on set giving him a maturity and depth of character beyond his peers. Jaden shares that he wasn’t just lucky but had a strong support system from the beginning.
“My mom put me into modeling when I was 2 years old and eventually someone was like ‘hey your son is really good in front of the camera’ so they put my mom up with a talent agency and I started doing commercials from there.” In fact Jaden recalls his earliest memory on set. “I remember working on Nickelodeon commercials when I was 4 and 5,” he recalls. “My mom would actually take me to film festivals,” Jaden exclaims with deep appreciation for his mother’s devotion. Of course after the first few years his mother checked in on him to make sure her son was pursuing a path that made him happy.
“When I was ten my mom was like ‘Hey Jaden, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to but if you like it I’ll support you.” He knew she would because she already had. Jaden says his response to her was from the heart, “I think this is what I need to do, Mom. I think this is for me.” Jaden spent the next years going to auditions and working on set all the while focusing on school. As he grew up he was hit with the harsh realities of life having been exposed to the inspiring stories of the films that featured him.
“Up until age 9 I thought being on camera was fun—and that it was fun to have my friends see me on screen,” Jaden explains, “then my whole world changed completely,” his mood shifts. “Oh, life is heavier that I thought it was. Working on NYC 22 was the first time I realized acting is a lot more than smiling in front of a camera, it’s a mindset and you have to build for that. At ten years old, I started prioritizing it differently.”
His priorities were also focused outside of acting, actively involved in Global Kids Council, a program that educates and activates youth from underserved communities to take action on critical world issues.
Courtesy of Netflix
“There’s a lot of great stuff on the Global Kids Council,” Jaden expounds. “Myself and six other kids from six different countries came together to talk about problems in the world and discuss ways to solve them. I thought I was intellectual and then I got very humbled and was like ‘whoa you guys are smart.’ I love supporting something that’s bigger than me and talking to people bigger than me.” Then with a deep sense of conviction he states “being able to resonate with someone on more than an emotional level, maybe on a political level, a moral level, ethical,” he pauses, “it’s important to disagree with people. You both come out with different ways to think and fix problems. I love debating and talking.”
Articulate and educated, Jaden goes on to talk about his experience on some of his favorite productions.
“I worked on a project called Custody with Viola Davis and James Lapine,” Jaden elaborates on what he learned about acting. “It’s a process of repetition, learning about yourself and what you need to work on, and watching a lot of bad movies.”
Another favorite was Wonderstruck.
“The writing was fantastic, and just brilliant directing. Working with an excellent cast like Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams was incredible. I felt like it was a family; you come to set everyday you start making connections with your cast members, everyone from the actors to the guys at Crafty.”
He relates to his latest film ‘Vampires Vs The Bronx’ in a special way.
“Working on Vampires was amazing,” Jaden states. “It’s a story of gentrification and how our culture can be extracted which is so prevalent with America being such a diverse surge of culture and how quickly those things can disappear. I don’t think I’ve ever worked on a character so close to me, similar as far as personality. I saw a lot of myself on screen. Oz Rodriguez is a great writer, I like his ideas and what he brings to the table.”
“I’ve also been recently working on Blue Bloods playing Sam Jones…it’s one of the most thought out characters I’ve felt. The most work I’ve done, he’s adopted, an American with West Indian, Black Caribbean, and on his dad’s side is Antiguan heritage, I got to tell that story but it’s also an essential story about people and who we can be. I really appreciate everyone on set, we’re all close friends too. We all still talk.”
Jaden has also worked in animated productions. “My life is forever ruined by that!” He jokes. “People look me up and go ‘OMG you played Baby Jaguar!’ In all honesty it’s an opportunity to truly become someone else. With acting I have to keep up with what I look like. In animation, I can play a jaguar. I can play a purple monkey.”
Aside from his accolades in the acting world, Jaden Michael lives life as normally as he can with hobbies and a sense of humor that lights up a room. “I like skateboarding a lot, and breaking bones and straining muscles. I like surfing and snowboarding. Lately over quarantine I’ve been making music. I play guitar and so it just kind of works: guitar and beats and my vocals. I’ve also become an avid Rubik’s cuber, 32.4 seconds is my record.”
Currently a high schooler at Dwight Global, a private school in New York City, Jaden has dealt with the effects of the pandemic differently than most high schoolers.
“They opened an online school for young professionals like me. I’ve been online for two years already so it hasn’t affected me in the same way. I was taking NYU classes the first half of the semester, the second half was online. We made 2 or 3 films away from each other. One project I edited and wrote called Two Thieves, my friends directed and shot everything in their basement, it was an effort but we got it done.” He postulates about the global scenario. “You know, a lot of people say the pandemic separates us, but it put a lot of us close together to be more introspective about what we want and our purpose.”
Regardless of the state of the world Jaden isn’t slowing down, he’s got exciting plans for his future. “I’ve been telling everyone when I was a kid I knew EXACTLY what I was gonna do: I’m gonna act now and then I’m gonna go to law school. I’ve been interested in law and psychology. I took a class at NYU about film, being a director and being a filmmaker. I learned a lot about myself and what stories I like to tell. It helped me think differently as an actor and as a person. I want to tell meaningful stories, not just run-of-the-mill teenage romance, something that really resonates with me and what’s going on with society. Telling stories that mean something to me and to society and help us to reflect on who we are and where we can go. Those stories exist, it’s whether or not we want to show them.”
One of those stories he would love to tell is about as far from “run-of-the-mill” as it gets.
“My dream role is definitely a psychopath. I’ve always wanted to play a thriller killer,” he laughs. “I just like the idea of getting really angry—you have complete control no one can tell what’s right or wrong.”
While it’s no murderer, Jaden’s next big role was recently announced and it is perhaps his most iconic yet. He will be playing a young Colin Kaepernick in a six episode biopic series called Colin in Black & White, directed by the iconic Ava DuVernay. The part was actually cast by the notorious 49ers quarterback himself who tweeted “I never thought I would be casting a young me in a show about my life. I can’t wait for the world to see Jaden Michael be an all-star.” Jaden responded to the news with an Instagram post of a side by side photo with the caption:
“I couldn’t be more ecstatic to tell the story of the legend, the leader, the all-star Colin Kaepernick.”
And Jaden, we couldn’t be more ecstatic to see you tell this story that resonates with what is going on with society helping us reflect on who we are and where we can go.
To learn more about Jaden Micheal check out his social medias
https://www.instagram.com/jadenmichael/?hl=en
and the trailer to the NETLIX Film ‘VAMPIRES VS ZOMBIES’
Meet the Author
Kimber London is a professional writer and model on a mission to inject creativity and passion into the world. Published with a degree in Creative Writing and over ten years experience Kimber is your go-to for content that engages and excites. Connect with them on Instagram today!