Fantasy Cast: Who should play Michael Jackson?

With the recent passing of Michael Jackson, the Internet has been a buzzing with rumors about the inevitable motion picture biopic that is allegedly already being planned. To be honest, I’m not surprised. The making of a movie about Michael Jackson’s life wasn’t a matter of “if” it would happen, but rather a question of when?

So, with the point being made that it’s only a matter of time before we see a biopic of the King of Pop, the bigger more difficult question emerges… Who in the world is best suited to play Michael Jackson? Theoretically, there would be a need for two different actors with one to play the young Michael, as his time growing up as a member of the Jackson Five was crucial to his developing into the adult pop star and legend he became.

One of the first things I noticed when I began cruising the web for talk about this subject was the amount of buzz being given a rumor that Johnny Depp is interested in taking on the King of Pop. Honestly, this is a terrible idea. I’m sure Depp would do his best to honor Jackson’s memory and deliver a good performance, but to imagine him as THE King of Pop just isn’t playing out in my mind. Related to this, it seems there’s a lot more talk of caucasion actors in connection to this role that there are African-American actors, which to be quite frank, bothers me a bit. Let’s be real folks.

I don’t mean to exclude anyone based solely on outward appearance, but there’s just got to be someone out there with the right stuff. This brings me to my personal belief that an undiscovered talent should be sought out to portray one of the most influential music talents since The Beatles. You never know when someone out there may be perfect, if only given an opportunity. This makes me think of Jennifer Hudson, who stepped out on ‘American Idol’ but truly showed her range when cast in ‘Dreamgirls’. Before this, with all due respect, she wasn’t on most people’s radars.

Having considered these points of discussion, let us know what you think. Should there be an effort to seek out an unknown talent to respectably portray the life of Michael Jackson? Or, is there an actor out there already who embodies the necessary strengths and talents to make us believe they’re the King of Pop on the big screen?

And, as always, if you have any ideas for future Fantasy Casts, shoot us an email with your ideas. You can find all of our email addresses right here!