Don’t hide your talent, ever. Ever!’” Jonathan Majors is recounting some advice he got from Spike Lee, his friend, mentor and former director (Da 5 Bloods). Chatting to Total Film over Zoom, a lamp pierces the darkness of the room he’s in, illuminating his features. “That’s one of the things he would say. I remember him telling me: ‘Don’t give me this humble shit… Shine, little brother, shine!’’’ Sage words, which the laid-back 32-year-old actor has taken to heart, both in his personal life and his work.
Majors has the kind of talent that is hard to miss. He wouldn’t have been able to hide it even if he tried. In just a few years, he has emerged as an unstoppable force, a magnetic actor with real gravitas, who is capable of the kind of on-screen alchemy that leaves you completely transfixed. Since graduating from Yale School of Drama in 2016, he has won acclaim for his breakthrough role in The Last Black Man In San Francisco, picked up an Emmy nomination for his performance in HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and landed a massive part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Kang the Conqueror (but more on that later...).
His latest film, The Harder They Fall, is a Netflix Western by first-time director Jeymes Samuel that reinvigorates the genre with snarling glee and visual aplomb. Majors plays Nat Love, the real-life Black cowboy who roamed the Wild West under the nickname Deadwood Dick. With the help of his old gang, including his former love, Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), he sets out to avenge his parents after learning that their killer, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), has broken out of prison.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
RETURN TO OZ
WICKED Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande defy gravity as the Broadway smash reaches cinemas.
GRIN AND BEAR IT
SMILE 2 Trauma-horror sequel sees the curse latch onto a pop superstar...
BAD ROMANCE
TIMESTALKER Alice Lowe falls in love with the wrong man time and time again...
CLOWNING GORY
TERRIFIER 3 Creator Damien Leone says Art the Clown is coming home for Christmas...
SELF EXPRESSION
LAYLA A non-binary, British-Palestinian drag queen navigates their expression of identity.
GENA ROWLANDS
I like difficult roles,' said Gena Rowlands. No kidding. A stage, TV and film actor whose career spanned more than six decades, Rowlands will be most remembered for the series of coruscating dramas she made with her first husband, actor-turned-director John Cassavetes, between 1968 and 1984.
'NOW NOTHING IS ABOUT LOOKS OR ABOUT BEING A LEADING LADY.AND IT'S VERY LIBERATING' EMILY WATSON
Since breaking hearts in Breaking the Waves, Emily Watson has delivered countless screen masterclasses, from Gosford Park and Punch-Drunk Love to Apple Tree Yard. Now, the English star goes toe-to-toe with Cilllan Murohy in Irish drama Smeal/ Things like hese and fronts 1V prequel Dune: Prophecy. Is it her second coming? It's elementary, my dear Watson...
BLODD PRESSURE
BASED ON STEPHEN KING'S MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOK AND WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY IT SCRIBE GARY DAUBERMAN, VAMPIRE MOVIE SALEM'S LOT FACED AN UNHOLY FIGHT TO GET TO OUR SCREENS. TOTAL FILM HUNTS DOWN DAUBERMAN AND STARS LEWIS PULLMAN AND MAKENZIE LEIGH TO LEARN ALL THAT WAS AT STAKE...
Lucky Man
He broke out in Beatles jukebox musical Yesterday and has a varied slate of juicy projects on the horizon, including a very different take on a superhero franchise. But, as the everhumble Himesh Patel tells Total Film, he puts a lot of it down to luck...
A BUE ABOVE
WORLD-BUILDER EXTRAORDINAIRE RIDLEY SCOTT IS ALSO THE MASTER OF THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, RESTORING HIS MISHANDLED GEMS INTO MASTERPIECES. WITH THE EXPANSIVE DIRECTOR'S CUT OF NAPOLEON NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM, TOTAL FILM SPEAKS TO THE GREAT SCOTT ABOUT BLOWING UP BONAPARTE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH EDITING AND WHY BIGGER IS (USUALLY) BETTER.