Why Michael B. Jordan is not ready to meet his namesake Michael Jordan
Jordan opens up about the pressure of sharing a name with the basketball legend.
The time when Michael B. Jordan may have been mistaken for Michael Jordan is fast ending, but the "Black Panther" star still hasn't met the basketball legend.
In the May issue of Men's Health magazine, Jordan, the actor, spoke about the pressures of growing up with a famous moniker.
"I’m competitive. I want to compete in anything I do. That came from my name," he said. "Growing up in sports and having a name like Michael Jordan and being teased, I had to compete. I couldn’t be the guy with the name and not be good at it."
He continued, "That carried over to everything. I’m like, I’ve got to be just as great if not greater than he was in his field."
With the global success of "Black Panther," Jordan is now a bonafide star but he's still not ready to meet his namesake.
"I never met Michael Jordan. I never want to officially meet him until I’m at a point where he knows who I am and I know who he is. And it would be our mutual respect thing," Jordan said.
"Until then it would just be 'this guy has your name, ha ha.' I don’t want that," the 31-year-old actor added. "So that pushes me to keep working too. These things motivate me."
Jordan is currently working on "Creed II" and will star in HBO's "Fahrenheit 451" based on the classic 1953 Ray Bradbury novel. Jordan is also the executive producer of the HBO film.
The actor has no intention of resting on his laurels.
"Life is short, you know? I want to leave something behind. A blueprint. A work ethic," he said. "Something that my great-grandkids and their kids and their kids can see: This is where it started. Lineage. Intergenerational wealth. Things that are here forever. All that."