Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989) is an American actor.
He first rose to prominence after starring in the independent film The Last Black Man In San Francisco and later gained wider notice for starring in the television series Lovecraft Country as Atticus Freeman. In 2021, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as different versions of the Marvel Comics villain Kang the Conqueror, and was set to become the new Big Bad of the franchise after Josh Brolin's Thanos until Marvel Studios severed ties with him following his being found guilty of assault on his ex-girlfriend in December of 2023
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Selected Filmography
Film:
- Hostiles (2017) - Corporal Henry Woodson
- White Boy Rick (2018) - Johnny "Lil Man" Curry
- Out Of Blue (2018) - Duncan J. Reynolds
- The Last Black Man In San Francisco (2019) - Montgomery Allen
- Captive State (2019) - Rafe Drummond
- Gully (2019) - Greg
- Jungleland (2019) - Pepper
- Da 5 Bloods (2020) - David
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2021 — 2023) as Kang the Conqueror and his many variants:
- Loki (2021) note
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
- The Harder They Fall (2021) as Nat Love
- Devotion (2022) as Jesse Brown
- Creed III (2023) as Damien Anderson
- Magazine Dreams (2023)note as Killian Maddox
Television:
- When We Rise (2017) - Young Ken Jones
- Lovecraft Country (2020) - Atticus Freeman
Tropes invoked by this actor include:
- Role-Ending Misdemeanour: His career took a serious blow when he was arrested and later convicted of physically assaulting and harassing an ex-girlfriend in 2023, with additional allegations he'd been abusive towards other partners also coming out of the woodwork. Following his arrest, the United States Army and Texas Rangers dropped adverts starring Majors; he was also dropped as a client by his management company and public relations firm. Majors was dropped from the upcoming film adaptation of The Man in My Basement, which he was set to star in and executive produce, and was reportedly no longer being considered for the role of Otis Redding in a planned biopic. After he was found guilty, Disney announced they would no longer work with Majors, dropping him from his role as Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and selling the distribution rights for his already-completed film Magazine Dreams back to the original filmmakers. It was also announced in January 2024 that Majors would no longer be playing Dennis Rodman in the upcoming biopic 48 Hours in Vegas.
- What Could Have Been:
- According to Variety, Majors nearly missed out on joining the MCU (let alone getting considered for the role of Kang) because he walked out of his first general meeting with Marvel (after having been kept waiting due to busy executives). Casting Director Sarah Finn caught up with Majors before he left the building, and he got to portray Kang the Conqueror (and his variants) for Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania until he was let go after the abuse and assault of his ex-girlfriend came to light.
- He was set to star in and executive produce a film adaptation of The Man in My Basement, but was dropped from the film after being arrested for domestic violence.
- He was considered for the role of Otis Redding in the biopic Otis and Zelma, but was cut from the short-list after his arrest.
- Majors was cast as former NBA player Dennis Rodman in 48 Hours in Vegas, but was dropped from the film following his conviction for assault and harassment.
- According
