With the long-delayed movie finally about to release, Jonathan Majors is reflecting on his recent controversies and his Hollywood comeback ahead of Magazine Dreams‘ debut. Following his Emmy-nominated turn in Lovecraft Country, Majors was enjoying a very quick rise to stardom with the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kang the Conqueror, who was set to be the next Thanos. Majors’ career came to a standstill when he was arrested for a domestic ᴀssault report by his now-ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, being fired from the MCU and accused of further abuses and convicted of one count of reckless ᴀssault in the third degree and harᴀssment.

Now, with Magazine Dreams officially picked up by Briarcliff Entertainment, Majors has sat down with The Hollywood Reporter for his first major Hollywood comeback interview. The Emmy nominee began by recalling the period of time immediately following his not-guilty plea and trial, which he described as “heartbreak like I’ve never experienced” and how the feelings of the days in which he pondered “Is this real?” were “just compounded and compounded.”

After denoting his inability to comment directly on Jabbari’s allegations, due to their court case, Majors did acknowledge “there has to be accountability” for his actions and his story, and that the events provided him with a new strategy that he will take forward in both his life and acting career:

At some point, there has to be accountability for writing your own story. Am I going to fall into that narrative of falling apart, of self-destruction? Have a struggle, blame the world. Have a struggle, hate yourself. Have a struggle, deny everything. None of those narratives are beneficial. Have a struggle, learn, metabolize, grow.

When asked about the possibility of race being a factor in the way he was treated by Hollywood after his allegations, particularly when compared to the likes of Mel Gibson, Christian Slater and Josh Brolin, who all saw further successes after similar domestic violence situations, Majors instead expressed his belief that “My journey is my journey“, and that he felt it “doesn’t benefit me to compare” himself to others.

Despite the conviction and the elongated hiatus, Majors has confirmed he has had meetings for a number of projects in the future. One includes an undisclosed superhero movie, which the star was quick to confirm has “no relation to the big guys, DC or Marvel“, but did tease has “a pretty wicked story“, while the other is an indie revenge thriller helmed by Martin Villeneuve, brother to Dune‘s Denis.

Despite the meetings, and his thrill at getting to read scripts again, Majors also admits he sometimes feels as though his acting return is “not going to happen“, while simultaneously feeling like it could “start next week.” Looking to the future, both on screen and off, Majors expressed his hope to get to build a family with his fiancée, fellow actor Meagan Good, and that he hopes to continue acting, but understands it’s “not my call.” See the rest of what he said below:

[I envision my future being me] and Meagan, maybe a couple kids and my girl, Ella, happy, at ease, not worried about anything. Do I hope to make more movies? Absolutely. That is my intention. But that’s not my call. I don’t have a studio. And I’ve given up control. I would tell [the entertainment industry] I’m still learning, and I would thank them for participating in my growth.

What Majors’ Comments Mean For His Acting Future

He Still Has A Long Road Ahead

While certainly not the first to attempt a major career comeback in the wake of controversy, Majors is one of the few to do so in the wake of the #MeToo Movement. Hollywood’s perception of creatives, and willingness to accept them back into the fold in the wake of scandals, has undergone a major shift since the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Danny Masterson all found themselves not only without a career, but also facing various criminal charges.

That said, Majors is not the only one to attempt to enjoy a career resumption after controversial allegations. After leaving Pixar, in large part to reports he made employees uncomfortable, John Lᴀsseter made a comeback by becoming the head of Skydance Animation. Director Brett Ratner has also been pushing ahead to develop multiple projects in the wake of his Sєxual ᴀssault allegations, including a Milli Vanilli biopic and documentary about Melania Trump at Prime Video.

As for on-camera talent, however, the closest parallel to Majors’ story is that of Armie Hammer, whose acting career was stalled amid claims of abuse from multiple women, being dropped from multiple projects, including Paramount+’s The Offer and Taika Waiтιтi’s Next Goal Wins, among others. After having been cleared by the Los Angeles Police Department due to insufficient evidence, Hammer has now set up multiple projects to make his acting return, including the Western thriller Frontier Crucible, which has already wrapped filming, and Uwe Boll’s vigilante thriller, The Dark Knight, which is currently in production.

Our Take On Majors’ Acting Resurgence

Careful Choices Will Be Key To His Chances

Ever since the reports began swirling of his allegations, public opinion on Jonathan Majors has certainly been more mixed than outright negative, particularly as many of his collaborators have come out in defense of him, including Creed III‘s Michael B. Jordan recently. His comments above certainly show a sense of self-awareness and growth, so if he were to make the right choices going forward, not just in projects, but also in his personal life, he could very well enjoy the career growth he’s aiming for.

Source: THR

Jonathan Majors

Birthdate

September 7, 1989

Birthplace

Dallas, Texas, USA

Notable Projects

The Harder They Fall, Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, Creed III