Michael B Jordan Remembers Childhood Encounter With Tony Bennett
Michael B Jordan shares memories of meeting Tony Bennett as a kid during a 1998 album cover shoot, reflecting on his early brush with music legends and his own rise in film.
With his first Golden Globe nomination in the bag for the wildly entertaining vampire flick Sinners, Michael B Jordan looks set to keep climbing the ranks in the film world. Already a household name thanks to blockbusters like the Creed series and Marvel’s Black Panther, Jordan’s recent turn playing twin brothers in Sinners—helmed by his mate and frequent collaborator Ryan Coogler—has taken his acting to new heights. There’s talk of an Oscar nod on the cards, though with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, and Jesse Plemons in the mix, next year’s awards are shaping up to be a real scrap.
Jordan doesn’t seem too fussed about the awards circuit, though. He’s flat out with upcoming projects, both in front of and behind the camera. He’s just directed the latest Creed instalment and is gearing up for a fourth, plus he’s set to star in and direct a fresh take on the classic Steve McQueen caper The Thomas Crown Affair. On top of that, he’s lined up for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, his second go at a Clancy story after 2021’s Without Remorse.
Early Days and a Chance Meeting
While doing promo for Without Remorse, Jordan spoke about his move from the East Coast to the West, and a surprising connection to the late Tony Bennett—a singer with a well-known soft spot for San Francisco. Back in 1998, when Jordan was just a kid, Bennett came to New York to shoot the cover for The Playground, an album of children’s songs. The cover features Bennett grinning in the foreground, with a bunch of kids playing behind him. Among them was a young Michael B Jordan.
Jordan recalled,
“I was 11 years old, so I didn’t know much about him. But I remember him being very nice. He signed autographs for everybody and everything. It was cool.”
Tony Bennett’s Lasting Influence
Bennett, who grew up in New York and spent plenty of time performing in New Jersey clubs back in the 1940s, is best known for the classic ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’. He also spent years performing in Las Vegas. Through the 1950s and 60s, Bennett became a global star and is now recognised as one of the greatest jazz singers ever. With over 50 million albums sold, his final release came in 2021—a set of duets with Lady Gaga. He passed away two years later at the age of 96.
Jordan’s own passion for music is well known, and it’s a big part of Sinners in particular. He’s often posted clips of himself belting out R&B tunes on social media, and he’s appeared in music videos for artists like Swedish singer Snoh Alegra. For his role in Without Remorse, he used a mix of songs to get in the zone for action scenes, even putting together a Spotify playlist for the film.
Looking Ahead
Jordan’s got a stack of other projects in the pipeline, including Methuselah, an action film directed by Danny Boyle about a bloke who’s a thousand years old and has some serious fighting chops. With his career on the up and a genuine love for music, Jordan’s early brush with Tony Bennett stands out as a cool moment in a life that’s only getting more interesting.