Michael, Jackie, Jermaine, Tito \u2014 and Jaylen?<\/p>\n
As presented in the upcoming likely-to-be-a-blockbuster biopic, \u201cMichael,\u201d<\/a> the Jackson 5 would not be complete without the presence of Jaylen Lyndon Hunter.<\/p>\n The Memphis actor, now 15, will appear in the movie as young Marlon Jackson, the fourth-youngest member of the brother act that would achieve pop-music superstardom with the release of such Motown hit singles as \u201cThe Love You Save,\u201d \u201cI Want You Back\u201d and \u201cA-B-C.\u201d<\/p>\n Memphian Jaylen Lyndon Hunter will appear in the upcoming movie “Michael” as a young Marlon Jackson.<\/p>\n Set for release on April 24, \u201cMichael\u201d follows the life and career of Michael Jackson from his days as a preteen sensation with the Jackson 5 in the 1960s and early ’70s through the release of \u201cThriller\u201d in 1982, which helped transform the singer into a Beatles-and-Elvis-level global icon. Michael\u2019s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, the son of Jermaine Jackson, plays the adult Michael.<\/p>\n An Atlanta actor named Tre’ Horton plays the more adult version of Marlon. But Jaylen Hunter \u2014 in his screen debut \u2014 will portray the youthful Marlon.<\/p>\n Jaylen\u2019s scenes were shot last year, according to his mother, Crystelle Jones.<\/p>\n He already had experience in the role, performing as Marlon in the road version of the Broadway show \u201cMJ: The Musical.” But by the time that tour reached the Orpheum in Memphis<\/a> last fall, Jaylen was off the show and on set in Los Angeles, making the movie.<\/p>\n A student at Evangelical Christian School, Jaylen \u2014 the son of former professional basketball player and University of Memphis star Jimmie “Snap” Hunter \u2014 began acting, singing and dancing in stage productions at Idlewild Elementary School and at a performance arts camp, the Young Actors Guild.<\/p>\n Eventually, casting directors took notice of Jaylen’s talent (and of the audition tapes shared by his mother). By 2021, Jaylen was onstage at the Orpheum and on the road across America, in the role of the young Simba in the touring version of “Disney’s The Lion King.”<\/a><\/p>\n Jaylen Lyndon Hunter was the young Simba in the touring version of the Broadway production of “Disney’s The Lion King.”<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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