‘Michael’ Star Jaafar Jackson’s Incredible Awards Run Continues With a Triple Win at the National Film Awards UK

Jaafar Jackson’s transformation from complete acting newcomer to one of the year’s biggest breakout stars has been one of the more remarkable stories in Hollywood this year. Just months after stepping into his late uncle’s shoes for the first time on camera, the young actor has continued racking up hardware for a performance that even he never fully anticipated.

‘Michael‘, the Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic chronicling the life of Michael Jackson, has spent much of the year rewriting box office records while simultaneously building serious awards season momentum. The film recently surpassed ‘Oppenheimer’ to become the highest-grossing biopic in history, adding yet another milestone to what has already been a remarkable theatrical run.

That momentum carried directly into the 2026 National Film Awards UK, where ‘Michael’ walked away with three major trophies. Jaafar Jackson took home both the Outstanding Performance award and Best Newcomer for his portrayal of the King of Pop, while producers Graham King, John Branca, Prince Jackson, and John McClain won Best Producer for their work bringing the film to the screen.

What makes these wins particularly meaningful is how the National Film Awards UK operates, since the ceremony is voted on entirely by the general public rather than critics or industry panels. That distinction means Jackson’s dual victory reflects genuine grassroots enthusiasm from everyday audiences who responded to his performance, rather than praise filtered through traditional awards gatekeepers.

The triple win also arrived on a particularly symbolic day for the film, landing on the same date ‘Michael’ surpassed Walt Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ at the box office. Jackson’s individual wins followed closely on the heels of another major victory just two days earlier, when he took home Best Actor at the 2026 Astra Midseason Movie Awards, beating out a field that included Chiwetel Ejiofor for ‘Backrooms’, Ralph Fiennes for ’28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’, and runner up Ryan Gosling for ‘Project Hail Mary’.

Jackson’s path to this level of recognition has been anything but conventional. He had no prior acting background before landing the role of a lifetime, with his only previous screen credit being an appearance on the 2015 reality series ‘The Jacksons, Next Generation’. Producer Graham King, who also produced ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, has previously described how Jackson skipped a traditional audition entirely and instead sent King a voice note of himself speaking in character as Michael, a gamble that eventually led to years of intensive coaching before he was officially confirmed for the role.

That unconventional casting story has become part of the broader narrative surrounding the film’s success, with critics and audiences alike consistently pointing to Jackson’s performance as one of the year’s most talked about breakthroughs. His ability to carry a near billion-dollar global blockbuster in his very first feature film role has drawn comparisons to some of the most demanding musical biopic performances in recent memory.

Beyond the individual accolades, the producing team’s Best Producer win underscores just how much industry recognition the film has continued to receive on top of its commercial dominance. With five total nominations heading into the ceremony, including additional recognition for director Antoine Fuqua and the film itself in the Best International Film category, ‘Michael’ entered the night as one of the evening’s clear frontrunners.

As awards season continues to unfold, the momentum behind both Jackson and the film shows little sign of slowing down. Given how consistently ‘Michael’ has continued to break records both at the box office and now on the awards circuit, this latest sweep feels less like a surprise and more like confirmation of a story that has been building since the film’s release.

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