Georgia actor brings dance moves to Michael Jackson blockbuster biopic
Georgia native Tre’ Horton spent his childhood absorbing Michael Jackson music and even replicated the “Scream” music video at a talent show in high school.
So as a young actor with no major film credits to his name, Horton was thrilled to land a role as the adult version of Michael’s brother Marlon in the blockbuster biopic film “Michael.” The movie generated a whopping $217 million worldwide opening weekend, exceeding already high expectations.
“This is my very first movie so all I know is this,” Horton, 26, said while visiting theAtlanta Journal-Constitution newsroom earlier this week. “I’m just extremely excited to be part of this. I grew up loving Michael and have so much respect for him. I’m waiting for someone to pinch me and say, ‘Wake up!’”
Horton was only 9 years old when Jackson died in 2009, but his father Darryl was a bodyguard for rap star MC Hammer during Hammer’s heyday in the early 1990s and once ate dinner with Jackson.
“I always told people that growing up as a kid and nobody believed me,” he said.
As a teenager, Horton performed in musicals at Martha Ellen Stilwell School of the Arts in Jonesboro. His favorite roles? LeFou, Gaston’s bumbling sidekick, in “Beauty and the Beast” and charismatic Richie in “The Chorus Line.”
On Monday, Horton visited his alma mater for the first time since graduating, which he dubbed a “full-circle moment.” Several of his Class of 2018 friends showed up to surprise him.
“He was always a phenomenon when it comes to his work ethic,” said Britney Lee, his theater teacher at the time who has kept in touch with him through the years and is now assistant principal of the school.
Lee saw him struggle to break into the business when he moved to Los Angeles in 2022. Then came his role in “Michael.”
“When I found out he got this part,” Lee said, “I screamed. It’s like he manifested it!” Watching him in the film, she added, “was like watching his dream become reality.”
Because the biopic is more focused on Michael Jackson than his family, Marlon and his other siblings are largely relegated to background characters. (For fans interested in a Jackson family biopic, ABC’s hit 1992 miniseries “The Jacksons: An American Dream” is available on YouTube and features Angela Bassett as matriarch Katherine Jackson.)
In “Michael,” Michael Jackson is played by his real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson, who only interacts on-screen with the actors who play his brothers in group scenes. Horton’s Marlon does not have a single one-on-one conversation with Michael, although in real life, they were known to be very tight, especially as children.
Marlon does get to react to a few things Michael does, like when he brings home a chimpanzee he names Bubbles as a pet. There’s also an amusing scene when Michael asks the brothers, now in their mid-20s, to play Twister with him, but Marlon’s mind is on a hot date.
“It doesn’t take dialogue to make an impact on screen and acting is more than just saying lines,” Horton said. “It’s what you’re internally feeling. In moments I’m not talking, you have to feel the emotion. If you aren’t feeling anything, they won’t use the cut. A face says a lot. If that translated well on screen, that’s all that matters.”
Marlon was known as the Jackson brother who could go toe to toe with Michael on the dance floor, so Horton worked extra hard to replicate the intricate choreography. He spent several weeks rehearsing before production began in early 2024, resulting in Horton’s favorite set piece: the final Jacksons “Victory” tour stop at Dodger Stadium at the end of 1984 when they perform “Human Nature” and “Workin’ Day and Night.”
Although that scene is near the end of the film, “it was the first day of filming,” Horton said. “I was put through the wringer to get it right.”
The most emotional scene he shot, he said, reenacted when a spark lit Michael’s hair on fire during a Pepsi commercial shoot in early 1984. Michael suffered second- and third-degree burns to his scalp from pyrotechnics.
“You have to tap into those emotions of watching something terrible happen to your brother,” Horton said. “It was a long day of shooting. I think things started to go left for Michael after that.” (The Jackson family lawyer Brian Panish later claimed the Pepsi incident sparked Michael’s later struggles with drug addiction.)
Horton’s favorite scene was one he wasn’t even in: watching Michael teach the iconic “Beat It” choreography to other dancers in front of competing street gangs. “People don’t always get to see what it takes to make the final product,” he said. “Getting that origin story was cool.”
And since the Jackson estate was deeply involved in the film, the filmmakers were able to shoot on the actual Jackson compound.
“To be in Michael Jackson’s actual bedroom was surreal,” he said. “It made everything so real.”
The film faced an interesting dichotomy: backlash from critics (a 37% Rotten Tomatoes rating) and rapturous fan reaction (97% Rotten Tomatoes rating). Horton, aware of Jackson’s issues that may get addressed in a sequel, said, “You just go in and know you did the work you’re hired to do and you kind of mute the negativity.”
Horton said learning from seasoned actors like Colman Domingo, Nia Long and Miles Teller made the experience worthwhile. And he got to spend quality time with the real Marlon Jackson, now 69, who left the music business in the late 1980s to become a real estate agent and now runs the Study Peace Foundation.
“It was great to get that insight,” Horton said. “Marlon’s a jokester. Lighthearted and all about spreading peace and love. He and Michael were alike in a lot of ways.”
Horton said he is aware of the vicissitudes of the entertainment business: “I’m trying to find out my Plan B currently. I don’t want to be just known as an actor or artist. I feel like I’m business savvy. If you know the business side, you’ll have a better chance of being successful.”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
