Juliano Valdi said he felt the weight of acting in front of Michael Jackson’s family while playing the pop star as a boy in Michael, the biopic now in theaters. The 12-year-old actor said he wanted to make Katherine Jackson proud from the moment he met her on set, and that he tried to bring Michael’s energy to the screen as closely as he could.
“I remember seeing Katherine, and when I saw her I wanted to make her proud. So, I just brought Michael's energy to the screen as close as I can,” Valdi said. He said the role carried “a lot of pressure” and that he had a “big responsibility,” adding that he had to handle it gently, “like taking care of a baby.”
Valdi is one half of the film’s split portrayal of Jackson, with Jaafar Jackson playing the adult Michael. The younger actor said the Jackson family responded warmly to him and gave him confidence as he worked. “I knew that when they thought so highly about me, they were really confident in me,” he said. “It was a lot of pressure. I had to make everyone proud because they thought that I could play Michael Jackson.”
That family presence was not limited to one visit. Katherine Jackson, La Toya Jackson and Marlon Jackson periodically came to the set, and Michael’s eldest child was there every day as a producer, according to the film’s producer Graham King. Prince also attended premieres in Los Angeles and Berlin, and wrote on Instagram on April 11 that watching Jermaine Jackson’s son step into the role of Michael was “incredibly special” for the family and that Jaafar Jackson was the only right choice to bring the story to the big screen.
The support around the film has not been unanimous, though. In August 2025, Paris Jackson said on her Instagram Story that she had “0% involvement” in the movie set. She said she had read one of the first drafts of the script and gave notes about what she thought was dishonest or did not sit right, but moved on when those issues were not addressed. That distance stands in contrast with the family members who visited the production and the approval Jaafar Jackson said he felt at the premiere, when he said having cousins and other relatives there “meant everything.”
For Valdi, the goal is bigger than mimicry. He said he hopes viewers come away understanding who Michael Jackson was away from the stage, not just in performance, and that they “feel groovy” in that Michael Jackson mode. With the film now playing, the question is whether that younger version of Jackson gives audiences the intimate view of the singer the cast says it was trying to deliver.