Michael Jai White is an actor, producer, director and screenwriter who holds seven black belts in various styles of martial arts. Michael’s biography is similar to the American dream: he independently went from poverty to universal recognition and fame.
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Childhood And Youth
“I was not yet six, but so many people had already been killed before my eyes that I began to consider someone else’s death something like a life norm. I developed a strong immunity to human pain and blood. I gained a protective spiritual callousness, and perhaps this is what helped me survive, ”the actor admitted in an interview.
The boy was raised by his mother, who constantly changed jobs to feed her family. When White was seven years old, she was offered a position in another city, so the woman had to move to a neighboring state with Michael. But even there, the life of the future actor did not look like a fairy tale: the same impoverished quarter with the laws of the jungle and the same deviant behavior around.
But there was no choice. White recalled that he and his mother rented an apartment where the bully Troy Alvis lived next door, who always bullied him. But Michael was not a blunder at all and knew how to hit back his opponent, but in the future the boys became real friends.
White grew up as an active child and from an early age used all sorts of pretexts to fight. According to rumors, Michael became interested in martial arts after watching the action movie Five Fingers of Death by Chan Ho Cheng (1972).
Since there was no money for special karate classes in the family, the boy had to practice on his own at home. In this regard, he was helped by Troy, who attended the Japanese martial arts section and happily showed his friend the blows he had learned.
At first, the boy was engaged in Shotokan karate, then switched to Kyokushin under the guidance of Shigeru Oyama. It was in this style that the guy received his first black belt as a teenager.
When the young man was 14 years old, he left his mother’s apartment and began to live on his own with his friend, who was shot dead a month later. It is noteworthy that White also has two combat wounds from bullets. In the future, the guy was considered the thunderstorm of the area: Michael never climbed first, but in conflict situations he showed his skills in practice.
Films:
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Following, in 1992, the actor played in the popular action movie Universal Soldier (1992) with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. With a budget of $23 million, the picture grossed $80 million at the box office, which prompted the filmmakers to think about filming a series of sequels and alternative storylines. In 1995, fortune smiled at the stately actor (Michael’s height is 183 cm, and weight is 92-97 kg): Uli Edel called him to play Iron Mike in the biographical film Tyson. The drama was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
It is not surprising that after this role, the proposals of the directors fell on the young man as if from a cornucopia. White appeared on set every year. Significant for him was the participation in the science fiction film “Spawn” (1997) based on the comic book by Todd McFarlane. Michael Jay became the first black actor who was lucky enough to transform into a superhero in front of the director’s cameras.
Due to special effects, the film’s original budget doubled, but the $40 million spent was more than justified at the box office – the box office amounted to almost $88 million. In an interview, the martial artist spoke about the difficulties of filming. Only the artist spent up to four hours a day on make-up, contact lenses irritated his eyes, the suit literally stuck to the body, and the mask did not allow him to breathe normally. Michael’s colleague on the set also complained about the costume – John Leguizamo’s tight and airtight overalls caused bouts of claustrophobia. Their torment was not in vain: the make-up in the film was awarded a Saturn Award nomination, and White and Leguizamo were nominated for Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.
White developed not only as an artist, but also poured into the process of making films.
In the action movie Undisputed 2 (2006), Michael acted as the lead actor and boxing coach of his partner on the set, Scott Adkins.
A year later, he made his debut as an executive producer in the first feature film directed by Spyros Statoulopoulos. The one and a half hour drama, filmed in one take, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the Golden Alexander prize, the list of awards for the film included prizes at the IFF in Thessaloniki and Sofia.
Throughout his film career, Michael has shown that any role is subject to him. For example, in the neo-noir action movie The Dark Knight (2008), which also starred Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman, the actor appeared before the audience as the brutal crime boss Gambol.
This picture is known not only for the billion-dollar box office, but also for the first Oscar for a superhero film – the statuette was received by Heath Ledger posthumously.
Another production work of White was the action movie Blood and Bone (2009), where he played the main character. This picture was left without awards, but received positive reviews due to well-staged fights.
In 2010, the number of bright images embodied by Michael on the screen was supplemented by Major Jackson Briggs, a character from the Mortal Kombat universe. In this image, the artist appeared in the short film “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” and the TV series “Mortal Kombat: Legacy”.
The directorial debut in White’s filmography was the sports dramas Never Back Down 2 and Never Back Down 3.
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His company in the main cast was Evan Peters, Dean Geyer, Gillian Murray. In action films, the martial artist consistently demonstrated the advantages of the old school against the new. The low-budget action films, unlike the first part of the film, received mixed reviews and were only released on DVD.
In 2020, the thriller Sudden Death Welcomes You, starring Michael Jay and Michael Eklund, premiered. The cast also includes the actor’s wife Gillian White. The picture is a remake of the popular action movie “Sudden Death” (1995) with Jean-Claude Van Damme. But unlike the original, Gene Quintano’s more comedic interpretation of the script received mostly negative reviews.
Personal Life:
In the summer of 2005, Michael proposed marriage to his girlfriend Courtney Chatman, and three years later, the couple had a daughter, Morgan Michelle. In 2011, the marriage broke up – according to media reports, due to White’s infidelity.
Morgan Michelle followed in her father’s footsteps: the girl goes to karate training and became the owner of a yellow belt at the age of six.
In July 2015, Michael linked his personal life with actress Gillian White (nee Gillian Iliana Waters). The ceremony took place in Thailand and was led by martial arts star Tony Jaa.
In an interview, the couple shared that they knew each other from their youth and even met for less than a year in the 90s, but parted. They maintained friendly relations and years later decided to get back together. Michael, in addition to his daughter Morgan, has two adult sons from a previous relationship, Gillian has two daughters, Alaya and Niahla.
On his Instagram page (the social network is banned in Russia, it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation), the actor often posts photos with his lover: they attend social events together, dine at restaurants, box and travel.
