Michael B. Jordan opens up about sharing a name with an NBA legend and dishes on new movie 'Fahrenheit 451'
Jordan explains why he decided to take on the project "Fahrenheit 451."
Michael B. Jordan has made a household name for himself with his successful acting career, but the "Black Panther" star admitted he's had a competitive chip on his shoulder since a young age thanks to sharing his name with a living legend.
The actor told "Good Morning America" that sharing a name with one of NBA's greatest players of all time was difficult as a young boy.
"We had the same name and I always got teased about not being the real Michael Jordan," he said of the six-time NBA champ. "Honestly [it] gave me a competitive chip on my shoulder and made me wanted to compete at anything I did and create my own lane and have my own legacy."
Jordan has lived up to his early ambitions, and can now be seen in the upcoming HBO film "Fahrenheit 451."
"[The movie] is about a futuristic society where the firefighters are put in place as the authoritative figures where they control free thought and media control," Jordan explained of the movie based on the popular book.
"Whether it's books, art, music -- that's all considered contraband and I play one of the firefighters and who starts to think and question kind of like what's going on," he said.
The dystopian novel written by Ray Bradbury was originally published in 1953, but Jordan said it's extremely timely for our society now.
"It stood the test of time. Even today we're dealing with media control and anti-intellectualism and questioning. We're giving up our free thought and our freedom of choice and it's really important today and that's one of the reasons I wanted to get involved," he said.
Jordan will walk the red carpet at the Met Gala tonight, revealing on “The View” that his suit will be one-of-a-kind.
“I'm wearing a designer that never made a full suit before,” he said without giving away too many details.
The star previously stunned at the event in 2017, when he wore a double-breasted shawl collar tartan tuxedo from the Ralph Lauren Purple Label.
