Jaafar Jackson reveals the pain he endured filming ‘Michael’ as it races towards more box-office history

The nephew of the King of Pop revealed just how much it took to become Michael Jackson, enduring toes that could numb for up to two hours.

For all the success “Michael” has had at the box office, there were still some tough moments for star Jaafar Jackson as he portrayed his uncle. In a recent episode of “Sneaker Shopping” with Complex, the young star revealed the physical toll it took to portray Michael Jackson in one of the biggest movies of 2026.

At one point, Jaafar revealed his feet would go numb while attempting to pull off some of his uncle’s iconic moves.

“To dance in loafers, especially, you know, I had to dance in a half size down or full size down so I can break them in cuz it’s leather, so they kind of expand over time,” Jackson told host Joe La Puma. “So the first two months of dancing, those feet are scrunched and then to do the toe stand, the moonwalk and the side, all these different moves in them. It caused a lot of complications with my feet.”

In terms of recovering from those long dance routines and takes, Jaafar says that, in some instances, it involves applying heat to regain feeling in his feet. But the numbness would only amplify his pain threshold.

“Sometimes it would go numb for 20 minutes, sometimes it would go numb for 2 hours. I’m like, it’s not coming back and my toe would go completely white, it get completely cold. I’d have to gauge it. So, it really depends on that day but the move that would really kill the toes is the toe stand. Doing that repetively is … not good.”

Since its late April opening, “Michael” has grossed more than $240 million at the box office, speeding past recognition as the biggest musical biopic of all time and moving closer to one of a few films to have earned over $1 billion at the global box office. The film has surpassed “Bohemian Rhapsody” to become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time. Still, it has a bit to go to catch the film’s international haul of nearly $700 million.