Jonathan Majors

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Majors rose to prominence for starring in the drama films The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) and Da 5 Bloods (2020), and the HBO horror series Lovecraft Country (2020), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Jonathan Majors
Majors in 2023
Born	Jonathan Michael Majors (1989-09-07) September 7, 1989 (age 34) Lompoc, California, U.S.
Education	University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) Yale University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2017–present
Children	1

Majors has since portrayed Nat Love in the western The Harder They Fall (2021), Jesse L. Brown in the war film Devotion (2022), and antagonist Dame Anderson in the sports film Creed III (2023). In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), he portrayed Kang the Conqueror in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), while also appearing as other variants of the character in the Disney+ series Loki (2021–2023).

In March 2023, Majors was arrested for physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. That December, he was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment. After the conviction, he was dropped from numerous upcoming projects, including any future involvement with the MCU. He was sentenced to a 52-week in-person domestic violence intervention program.

Majors was born in Santa Barbara County, California, and spent his early years living with his mother, who is a pastor, his older sister, and younger brother on the Vandenberg military base, as his father was in the US Air Force. In 2020, Majors said "Our father, who loved us dearly, just kind of disappeared one day ... and he resurfaced 17 years later." Majors has since reconnected with his father. The family moved around various cities in Texas, including Dallas, Georgetown, and Cedar Hill. He attended Cedar Hill High School and graduated from Duncanville High School in 2008.

Majors has described himself as having had a "difficult" childhood, growing up with drug dealers and murderers for neighbors who wore ankle monitors on their release from prison. As a teenager, Majors was arrested for shoplifting, suspended from high school for fighting, and lived in his car while working two jobs after being kicked out of his house. He eventually found solace and a "safe space" in the world of theatre, which he joined after watching Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Majors felt Heath Ledger's role as the Joker portrayed the complexity of good and evil, evoking memories of the criminals with moralistic dualities he grew up with. Majors credits Ledger's Joker as the reason he became an actor, and why he seeks to be an inspiration to others.

Majors studied for his bachelor's degree at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and later attended the Yale School of Drama; he graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2016.

2017–2019: Early roles and breakthrough

 

Majors secured his first onscreen role in the ABC miniseries When We Rise while still a student at Yale. In the series, Majors portrayed real-life gay activist Ken Jones; as part of his research for the role, he met with Jones before playing him. That same year, Majors appeared in his first feature film role as Corporal Henry Woodson in the revisionist Western film Hostiles, written and directed by Scott Cooper. The film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2017. It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2017. More roles followed, in the 2018 films White Boy Rick and Out of Blue. Both of these films screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, with the latter competing for the Platform Prize.

In 2019, Majors rose to prominence after starring in Joe Talbot's critically acclaimed independent feature film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019. It was released by A24 in the United States on June 7, 2019. Former President of the United States Barack Obama rated it as one of the best films of 2019. Majors' performance was praised by critics: Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called his performance "a mournful heartbreaker", while Rolling Stone described his turn as "both deeply sensitive and charmingly left-of-center". Majors also appeared in three other 2019 film releases: Captive State, Gully, and Jungleland.

2020–present: Marvel films and leading roles

In 2020, Majors starred alongside Chadwick Boseman and Delroy Lindo in Spike Lee's war drama film Da 5 Bloods, which was released on Netflix. That year, he also garnered wider notice for portraying Atticus Freeman in the HBO television series Lovecraft Country. His performance in Lovecraft Country was favorably reviewed by critics; Vogue dubbed him "the emotional core of the show". In 2021, Majors starred as the lead actor in Jeymes Samuel's directorial debut film The Harder They Fall, acting alongside Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King and Delroy Lindo. In 2023, he starred in Magazine Dreams and co-starred alongside Michael B. Jordan in Creed III. The former film was screened at Sundance in January 2023 and acquired by Searchlight Pictures for a release in December that year, but was later pulled from release and ultimately returned quietly to its producers following Majors' harassment and assault conviction.

Majors debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series Loki as "He Who Remains" and portrayed Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He then appeared as Victor Timely in Loki season 2. He was originally set to appear in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, on December 18, 2023, following his harassment and assault conviction, Marvel Studios announced that they would be parting ways with Majors. He was also dropped from a planned film about Dennis Rodman.

Relationships

Majors has a daughter. In August 2021, he began a relationship with British dancer Grace Jabbari, whom he met in London on the set of the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The pair separated in March 2023, following a series of alleged incidents surrounding domestic violence during their relationship.

Since May 2023, Majors has been dating actress Meagan Good.

2023 assault

On March 25, 2023, Majors placed a 911 emergency call requesting medical assistance to his New York residence after he claimed he had arrived home and found his former girlfriend unresponsive. Majors also claimed he had spent the night at a hotel. Majors was later arrested on assault, strangulation and harassment charges, stemming from a domestic dispute with Jabbari the prior evening who "sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition", according to the NYPD after their preliminary investigation. He was released from custody that day, and his spokesperson denied the allegations, saying Majors "has done nothing wrong ... We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up." On March 26, Majors was arraigned in the New York City Criminal Court on the charges.

Majors' attorney, Priya Chaudhry, revealed that there were "two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations." On March 30, Chaudhry released text messages allegedly sent by Jabbari.

Jabbari was granted temporary order of protection by a judge against Majors ahead of a May 9, 2023 court date.

Reactions

In the initial wake of the incident, the United States Army announced they were suspending recruiting commercials that starred Majors. In a statement released to the public, the Army said, "While Mr. Majors is innocent until proven guilty, prudence dictates that we pull our ads until the investigation into these allegations is complete."

Several weeks after his arrest, Majors was dropped as a client by both the management company Entertainment 360 and the public relations firm The Lede Company. Majors was expected to star in and executive produce an upcoming adaptation of the Walter Mosley novel The Man in My Basement, but he was cut from the film and his role will be recast. Majors' invitation to the 2023 Met Gala was rescinded and he was removed from the Texas Rangers ad campaign. On October 27, 2023, Disney removed Magazine Dreams—an upcoming film starring Majors and originally set to be released on December 8, 2023, by Disney's Searchlight Pictures subsidiary—from its release schedule. Following his eventual conviction, Marvel Studios dropped him from his several roles, such as Kang the Conqueror.

Trial and conviction

On November 29, 2023, the assault trial began, with Majors pleading not guilty to misdemeanor assault and harassment charges. On December 5, Jabbari provided testimony backing the prosecution's claim that Majors assaulted her and presented evidence to the court as well.

On December 11, 2023, one of the strangers who came across Jabbari after the alleged assault, identified as Chloe Zoller, testified Jabbari looked "visibly upset" when she saw her outside but she did not notice any injuries on Jabbari at the time. Another video was released of Majors yelling at his ex-girlfriend, describing himself as a "great man", comparing himself to Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, and demanding she act like Coretta Scott King and Michelle Obama. On December 13, the judge presiding over the case allowed key evidence to be released to the public including CCTV footage of the alleged assault and Jabbari chasing Majors across several blocks in New York City. Closing arguments began on December 14.

On December 18, 2023, Majors was found guilty of one count of reckless assault in the 3rd degree and a charge of harassment as a violation. He was acquitted on another charge of assault and one of aggravated harassment. His sentencing was set for February 6, 2024. However, on the scheduled date, the sentencing would be postponed to April 8, 2024, after a slew of post-conviction motions which were filed by Majors' attorneys. In April 2024, he was sentenced to 52 weeks of a domestic violence intervention program and probation.

Other abuse allegations

In April 2023, Variety reported that more women accusing Majors of abuse had come forward and were cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney's office. The D.A. declined comment.

In June 2023, Rolling Stone published a report alleging a pattern of abusive behavior by Majors dating back to 2013, when he was studying at the Yale School of Drama. According to multiple third parties, Majors was physically and emotionally abusive toward one partner, while another described their relationship as "emotional torture". Majors' attorney denied the allegations, noting that the Rolling Stone report was effectively hearsay.

In February 2024, the two women who accused Majors of domestic abuse were identified.

Lawsuit

In March 2024, Jabbari sued Majors for defamation, assault and battery, alleging that Majors had a "pattern of pervasive domestic abuse that began in 2021 and extended through 2023".

Film

Television