Any martial arts fan will know Michael Jai White also called Michael J White but even non-martial arts fans will have come across him. He’s featured in some huge movies and TV series such as The Dark Knight, Arrow, Exit Wounds as well as the Mortal Kombat Legacy web series. Of course, he is the main Protagonist in tons of martial arts movies such as Blood and Bone, Spawn, Never Back Down: No Surrender, and Falcon Rising to name a few. Michael Jai White plays the cool, calm collective bad arse to a T. With imposing stature and a deep cool voice, he’s always someone you don’t want to mess with. He also featured on my 7 martial arts stars that deserve more recognition list.
Michael Jai White Early Life
Michael Richard Jai White was born November 10th, 1967, in New York, Brooklyn, USA. Growing up in a rough neighbourhood, He started training martial arts aged 7 in BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) then moved onto Shōtōkan Karate achieving his first black belt aged 12. He then went and trained in other styles, earning 7 more black belts of varying degrees in Tae Kwon Do, Kobudo, Goju Ryu Karate, Tang Soo Do, and Super foot system. He also studied Wushu and Kyokushin for many years.
Michael Jai White privately trained with such legends as Benny the Jet Urquidez, Don the Dragon Wilson, Bill Super Foot Wallace, Gene Lebell and Joe Lewis to name a few.
He also competed in many points system tournaments and grand championships gaining many victories and earning countless trophies.
Before becoming an actor, after graduating from high school. White jumps from university to university never really settling on what he wanted to do. Eventually, he became a high school teacher for troubled children. He taught this for 3 years for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Michael enlists this endeavour as his proudest achievement. His first early acting roles were bit parts and extra roles in The Toxic Avenger part 2 and 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Universal Soldier and even Saved by the Bell. He earned his big break in 1995’s Tyson a biopic of the Boxer Mike Tyson in which White played the lead role of Tyson.
Broadening his horizon White doesn’t primarily focus on martial arts movies like a lot of martial arts stars.
Movie Career
Tyson Proved quite the career-defining role. His performance received positive reviews making him a household name. Up until 1997, White would have supporting roles in some made for TV movies and TV-shows such as NYPD Blue, JAG, Shaughnessy and City of Industry with starred Harvey Keitel as the lead.
Finally, Hollywood would come knocking for the big-budget live-action of 1997’s Spawn where White would take the lead role as Al Simmons/Spawn. He would be the first African- American man to portray a superhero on screen. Based on the comic about a mercenary killed in action only to be resurrected from hell as a soldier of the devil. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t quite make White the A-lister is should have as the movie was universally panned and bombed at the box office.
After this White would be cast back in supporting roles in Breakfast of Champions with Bruce Willis. Thick as Thieves with Alec Baldwin, and a regular role in TV-series Wonderland which only lasted 1 season.
White would also star in Universal Soldier The Return opposite Jean Claude van Damme as Seth. This was the first time I saw Michael Jai White and wonder who this huge guy was with lighting fast effortless kicks.
In 2001 White would come to the big screen once again opposite Steven Seagal and DMX in Exit Wounds. In my opinion, Seagal’s last good and successful movie.
Skipping forward a bit as White has done far too much stuff to all talk about here. Like Adkins, he is also a movie-making machine. In 2006 He would star as the lead protagonist in the sequel to Wesley Snipes Undisputed. Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing. Like the first movie a world champion boxer George “Iceman” Chambers would get sent to prison this time in Russian on trumped-up drug charges. Everyone knows by now the champion fighter of the prison is a crazy Russian known as Boyka played Scott Adkins of course. The movie that made everyone take notice of Adkins.
In 2009 Michael Jai White would co-write and star as the lead in Black Dynamite. Directly after this, he would star in my favourite movie of his Blood and Bone as the ice-cool Isaiah Bone. A tough no-nonsense ex-convict who makes a dying promise to his friend so enters the underground fighting circuit.
In 2010 White would star as Jax in the awesome Mortal Kombat: Rebirth web video. This was a pitch to Hollywood for a new Mortal Kombat Movie it would later spawn the Mortal Kombat: Legacy web series in 2011 in which White would return as Jax. In between this, he would star in box office smash The Dark Knight.
White would make his directional debut and feature in the sequel to Never Back Down. 2011’s Never Back Down 2: Beatdown. He would also take lead and direct the 3rd movie in the series. Never Back Down: No Surrender in 2016. This movie featured on my top 5 MMA movies list.
Moving to more present time after a recurring role as superhero the Bronze Tiger in Arrow, Michael Jai White would once again star alongside Scott Adkins in Accident Man in 2018 and Triple Threat in 2019
At the time of writing this article, White had no less than 7 projects due to be released in 2020 including a sequel to Jean van Damme’s Sudden Death, Welcome to Sudden death, Take Back with Mickey Rourke, and The Outlaw Johnny Black.
Michael Jai White has a daughter from ex-wife Courtney Chatham. He also has two sons. In July 2015 he married current wife Gillian Illana Waters.
Check out his filmography below and an awesome tribute video.
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