Michael Jai (pronounced Jay-EYE) White is an American actor, director and mixed martial artist. With roles in both TV and film productions, White has made a name for himself as both an action star, with a leading role in the Never Back Down franchise films, and as a comedic talent, reprising the role of Marcus Williams in Tyler Perry’s show For Better or Worse. He is also notable for being the first African-American actor to play a superhero in a studio film.

Michael Jai White Bio: AGE, EARLY LIFE

White was born on December 10, 1967 (AGE: 55y), in Brooklyn and later moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, as a pre-teen. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, the six-foot 190-pound White was attracted to fighting, having begun martial arts training at just eight years old. This initially led to trouble, as he often found himself in the P.T. Barnum housing projects in Bridgeport, where street fighters often congregated. “There were a lot of bad influences around me,” White confessed to CT Post. “But even if they weren’t around me, I still would’ve found the bad influences.”

Wanting to enhance his martial arts capabilities, White often trained and lifted weights at the Ralphola Taylor Community Center YMCA. It was there that instructors noticed his talent, and let him teach his own paid karate class at fourteen. White has since earned a black belt in seven different martial arts styles and has 26 titles, including the U.S. Open, North American Open, and New England Grand Championship.

After graduating from Central High School in 1985, White attended college and has since studied acting at H.B. Studios, Yale and Brown. His first career was not acting, however, and he instead became a junior high school teacher. For three years, he taught emotionally disturbed children in grades five through seven. It is for this reason that White has often voiced his disapproval of hip hop, citing its destructive nature on the youths with whom he worked. Despite this concern, he has appeared in hip-hop music videos, including Nicki Minaj’s ‘Your Love’ and Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey’s ‘I know what You Want.’

Michael Jai White Bio: EARLY ACTING CAREER, TYSON, AND SPAWN

After landing roles in several commercials, theatrical productions and soap operas, White left teaching in 1992 and relocated to Los Angeles. Following several years of small television parts, one being ‘Military Police Man #2’ in Saved By The Bell, White played boxer Mike Tyson in the HBO TV movie Tyson in 1995. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly praised White’s performance amidst a sea of criticism of the movie. “Tyson is filled with striking performances. Michael Jai White has Tyson’s little-boy voice, shy gaze, and hair-trigger temper down cold,” he said.

Following Tyson, White’s next big role was superhero Spawn in the 1997 eponymous film. White plays black ops soldier Al Simmons, who after being murdered by the head of his government agency, makes a deal with the devil to sell his soul in exchange for seeing his wife. The role made White the first African-American superhero in a major motion picture and earned him a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Male Newcomer. Roger Ebert said of his performance that “Michael Jai White makes a powerful Spawn with a presence both menacing and touching.” His most recent foray into the superhero world was as a villain; in 2008, he played mob boss Gambol in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, appearing alongside Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker.

White has expanded the breadth of his roles and involvement in films since debuting as an actor. While cut from the eventual theatrical release, White appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2. He also starred in the Blaxploitation homage-film Black Dynamite in 2009, for which he wrote the script.

Michael Jai White Bio: MARTIAL ARTS FILMS

White frequently uses his advanced martial arts skills to his advantage, starring in roles that highlight his abilities. He starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Universal Soldier: The Return in 1999, and later developed a friendship with Van Damme, training with him frequently. He later teamed up with fellow martial artist Steven Seagal for the film Exit Wounds, playing police sergeant Lewis Strutt. Other notable martial arts roles include George “Iceman” Chambers in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, villain Morris in Michelle Yeoh’s Silver Hawk, and Isaiah Bone in Blood and Bone.

White insists that his careers as both actor and martial artist are one-and-the-same. In an interview with Vibe, he spoke about his goal of creating more truthful martial films for the entertainment industry. “I think a movie should expose a world that you would never know about if you hadn’t seen it. So that’s my aim – to bring truth to this particular story,” he said.

Michael Jai White Bio: TYLER PERRY AND FOR BETTER OR WORSE

In 2007, White has cast in director Tyler Perry’s film adaptation of his play Why Did I Get Married? In a comedy-drama about four modern couples dealing with the strain of maintaining relationships, White played former football player Marcus Williams. He reprised his role in the sequel Why Did I Get Married Too in 2010.

Tyler Perry later transitioned the two movies into a television series on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network, retitling it For Better or Worse. White once again played Marcus Williams, starring alongside TV wife Tasha Smith as the lone married couple of the show.

Michael Jai White Bio: VOICE WORK

White’s acting roles have also extended into voice parts for several cartoon series. He voiced Osebo in the superhero show Static Shock, and the villain Doomsday in Cartoon Network’s Justice League. White most recently played Green Lantern John Stewart in the video game Justice League Heroes. 

Michael Jai White Bio: DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, NEVER BACK DOWN

White made his directorial debut in the American martial arts film sequel Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown. He also starred as martial arts master Case Walker. He has since reprised both the director and star role for Never Back Down: No Surrender, this time alongside UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. White spoke to uInterview about the risk of sparring with Barnett while being the director of the production. “Here I am, the director, and I’m doing fight scenes with Josh Barnett and some of it is unscripted, some of it is not choreographed,” he confessed. “If something happens to me, well that’s kind of a rough one.”

Michael Jai White Bio: PERSONAL LIFE

White married Courtenay Chapman on August 6, 2005. He had one daughter with her, Morgan Michelle, who was born on December 8, 2008 (he also has two sons from a previous relationship). White later divorced Chapman in 2011, and married actress Gillian White (née Waters) on July 3, 2015. The couple is currently still together. In an open Facebook letter to his ex-girlfriends in 2015, White credits his wife for helping him to become “the best version of myself.”

White was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

He can speak some Japanese and Mandarin.

BUY NOW: ‘Never Back Down, Never Surrender’

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