Michael B. Jordan Was Heartbroken When He Wasn’t Picked For A Role That Bow Wow Eventually Got

Michael B. Jordan has spent many years working his way to the top of the movie business, and now he’s a bonafide superstar. Leading roles in films such as Creed and Black Panther have solidified him as a bankable star, and it’s easier than ever for him to get the roles he wants.

However, this wasn’t always the case. When he was much younger, he had to compete with many other actors for smaller roles in lesser-known movies. 

In fact, Jordan was devastated when he wasn’t cast for a movie role that ended up going to child star and international rap sensation, Bow Wow. 

Michael B. Jordan was heartbroken over missing out on a role in ‘Hurricane Season’

Jordan was asked if he’d ever been upset over not getting a role during a resurfaced 2018 interview with Janelle Riley for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. 

“Was there one that was kind of a real heartbreak that you remember?” Riley asked. “That anytime that you ever thought about ‘Maybe I’m not cut out for this.’”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I want to admit it though,” Jordan said. 

A little later in the interview, Jordan revealed that the role was for a little-known 2009 film named Hurricane Season. 

“It’s gonna be shade, either way, I say it, so it doesn’t matter,” Jordan said. “No, I think it was—I’ll just say the movie … Hurricane Season.”

Bow Wow got the role instead of Michael B. Jordan 

According to Jordan, he felt like he was a perfect fit for the role.

“I mean, Forest [Whitaker] was the coach, it was about the New Orleans basketball team … after Hurricane Katrina,” Jordan said. “It was about them assembling a team, and like, you know, making it through the season or whatever, and it was like, ‘Oh yeah, check all the boxes. Play basketball, I play basketball. I’m a good actor, Black kids, that’s checking all the boxes, right? I’m good to go.’”

However, despite his enormous potential, Jordan was not selected to star in the movie. 

“Yeah, I didn’t get it,” Jordan said. “I’m not gonna say who I didn’t get the role to, but yeah.” 

Although Jordan refused to say who got the role instead of him, a quick Google search reveals that rapper and actor Bow Wow was cast in the role that Jordan was most-likely going after. At the time, Bow Wow had a slightly larger profile, landing roles in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Lottery Ticket around that time.

The ‘Black Panther’ star didn’t give up hope 

Jordan later admitted that missing out on a starring role in Hurricane Season was the first time he really felt upset about not getting a part. 

“I think that was the first one that I was—not the first one, but that was the one that really stuck out at me, like, ‘Man, not this one? This isn’t the one for me?’ Yeah, I was a little upset, I was a little tight at that one.”

He also noted that he believes that no matter what happens in his life, the things meant for him will not pass him by. 

“What’s for you is for you, and can’t nobody take anything away from you,” Jordan said. “And that’s in life, and that’s how I kind of look at it.”

It’s a good thing Jordan didn’t give up, though. Now he’s starring in billion-dollar franchises and making tons of money.