Interview: Jamaal Fields-Green on playing King of Pop in MJ THE MUSICAL

Jamaal Fields-Green is making history right now. He's the only actor to play the lead in MJ the Musical across all three major global productions: Broadway, the US tour and currently the West End. We sat down with Jamaal to discuss what inspires him, how he transforms himself into Michael Jackson, and what he's working on when he isn't busy moonwalking…

What made you want to join the world of musical theatre?

I always loved to sing and dance as a kid, just for fun. Then in high school, my friends and I decided to do Music Theory so we could learn how to produce music, because we wanted to be a rap group. And our music teacher saw us and said we should audition for the school play. My best friend Matthew signed us up as a joke because he thought it would be funny if we all auditioned and then didn't do the show, but I ended up getting cast as Seaweed in Hairspray, and I caught the theatre bug.

From there, I had my teacher, Nadia Rizzo, and a bunch of other mentors who saw something in me and put me on that path. I auditioned for schools, and got into the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. I got my BFA in Musical Theatre, and it was game over from that point! I booked Hamilton right out of school, and got engulfed in the industry.

What was it like going into a show like Hamilton so soon after graduating?

It was nuts. Hamilton had come out a year or so before that, and it was the biggest phenomenon in the world. John Laurens/Philip Hamilton, the role that I ended up booking, was a role that I had written down in class my senior year when our teacher asked us to make a list of dream roles and roles we could do right now.

I'm very realistic, and I didn’t want to assume that life was going to be so great right away; I was ready to get a regular job, ready to do the New York grind. So then, to book that straight away, months after writing it down, was a dream come true. I was able to pay rent on my own for the first time. I started to become an adult and find myself, so it was a monumental moment.

What was the journey like from Hamilton to MJ? How did you get the role of Michael?

Crazy! The pandemic happened in between, and then after the break, my friend Ebrin Stanley, who was Mulligan/Madison in Hamilton with me, got us tickets to see MJ through a friend in the company. We were seeing the show, and during intermission, I checked my emails. And there was an audition call for future replacements for MJ! From then on, I was studying the show.

I did the general audition, and then a course of about three to four work session callbacks. In July 2022, I booked the role as standby for MJ and Middle Michael, and I did that for about a year. Then I was first alternate on the National Tour in the States. I took over the lead last year in July, then came to London in January.

Can you tell us about the process of becoming MJ? How did you prepare and research?

It's been very rigorous, a lot of hours. I still study to this day. My algorithms across the board have MJ in them. I’ll be watching a dog video, and then the next thing will be a random MJ video from a random concert. And whether I've seen it or not, I always take the time to watch it again. When you're playing a real person, you owe it to who they were to make sure that you portray them to the best of your ability, which is something that I really hold myself to.

It took a long time for me to get down all the movements and mannerisms and all the little inflections of his voice. It's some of the hardest work I've ever done, but I honestly think it has made me a better artist.

Is there room within the character to add your own touches to choreography and vocals?

Yes! I have friends that play the role across the companies, and what I’ve always loved is that we all have our own interpretations of MJ, and with that, we're able to bring a part of ourselves to the role. It's just a little part, but it's enough.

What do you think it is about Michael that makes his legacy so strong?

I would say, the will that he had to never give up on himself and his dreams and his vision. He was always willing to push the envelope forward. After ‘Thriller’, another artist might have said, “I'm good, I don't need to do anything more, I can just ride this wave”. But he still wanted to push that envelope with ‘Bad’ and the Dangerous tour and so on.

He was an industry baby, so he could have said, “I know everything”, but instead he remained a student. He learned from people like the Nicholas brothers, Bob Fosse, Fred Astaire, the street dancers of LA, ballet dancers. He tried all these different art forms and then created his own.

Have you thought about what sort of legacy would you like to leave yourself, as a performer or as a person?

Totally. As a performer, I want to leave something behind across all forms of entertainment. I do voiceover work, television, film, theatre. I’m a writer, a director. When it's all said and done, I want my name to really hold weight. And as a person, I want to be able to create art to - not to be on the nose - heal the world. Because that's what art does: it transcends, it heals. It's able to do so many things for the human soul, mind and body. I want to make the world better, whether it's from my art or from other humanitarian efforts, and to influence others to do the same.

Can you tell us a little about the music that you do outside of the theatre?

I go under the name of J. Hasan (Hasan is one of my middle names) and I do a mixture of pop, R&B and hip-hop. I had an EP that dropped this year called ‘What Was the Reason’, and I'm working on another EP that'll be dropping next year, and a new music video that's very MJ-inspired, called ‘Love You Better’. I'm very, very excited about that. We're using some students from the Wilkes Academy and an array of different artists from the West End.

Where do you get the inspiration for your own music?

So many people. Firstly, my uncle, who passed away unfortunately last year, was one of my heroes growing up, and was probably one of the best rappers you've never heard of. He was the biggest fan of my music, so I keep going for him.

Also Michael Jackson - because, why not? - Sam Cooke, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé… Those are just a few that influenced me, whether through songwriting, performance, or their music videos. I really want to be the full package, and give you music that'll get you up dancing, or make you feel something through the lyrics, and I'm a visual storyteller as well, so I try to have some sort of visual to every piece of music I release.

Speaking of visuals, you're also a filmmaker! What have you been working on?

I'm currently finishing up my third short film, called Shadow. It's my first horror film, about a guy moving into a new place, who finds himself haunted by three ghosts. It's got a nice little twist at the end!

I love filmmaking; I love being in control of things creatively, and trying new things. My first film was a sports action drama, my second was a black and white silent film about a clown, and my next one is going to be a musical!

After MJ closes in February, what would you like to try next in the world of theatre?

Everything, haha! I really want to originate something, build something from the ground up. And I would love to dive into some plays, maybe even some Shakespeare. I'm excited to see what the future holds!

MJ the Musical plays at Prince Edward Theatre until 28 February 2026, with tickets available here.

‘What Was the Reason’ by J. Hasan is available to stream here.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy