Fruitvale Station will likely be Jordan’s breakthrough role. There is a serious buzz around Hollywood that he is an early favorite to nab an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
But his Hollywood rise didn’t occur overnight. For the past 10 years, Jordan has cut his teeth in several highly touted TV series. He played an innocent, yet naive, corner kid on the first season of “The Wire.” And on “Friday Night Lights,” he played the part of an über-talented high school football star who remained confident despite his family issues. Although he was cast as a supporting actor on both TV shows, Jordan had several scene-stealing moments that displayed his potential to be commanding in a leading role.
“I first fell in love with acting when I did ‘The Wire.’ ” Jordan reveals. “When I played the character [Wallace], it was the first time I really lost myself in a character and I fell in love with it. It’s a feeling of euphoria. And from then on, you try to find roles and moments where you can do that again. I learned that it’s important to continue to listen and learn from people who have done it before. It’s always important to pick up the little things such as the writing and the character development. I want to explore, take risks and experiment. That’s the fun part of acting.”
