Jonathan Majors Bio
Jonathan Michael Majors, born on September 7, 1989, in Lompoc, California, is an American actor recognized for his powerful performances across film and television. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Majors rose to prominence through acclaimed roles in independent and studio productions, quickly establishing himself as one of his generation’s most compelling performers. His career includes leading roles in major franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he portrayed the multiverse-spanning villain Kang the Conqueror.
Early Life and Background
Jonathan Michael Majors was born in Santa Barbara County, California, and spent his early years on the Vandenberg military base with his mother, a pastor, his older sister, and his younger brother. His father, who served in the United States Air Force, left the family when Majors was young and did not reconnect with his children until roughly seventeen years later. The family subsequently moved several times across Texas, residing in cities that included Dallas, Georgetown, and Cedar Hill. He attended Cedar Hill High School before graduating from Duncanville High School in 2008.
Majors has openly described his childhood as difficult, recalling neighborhoods where drug dealers and recently released prisoners lived next door. As a teenager, he was arrested for shoplifting, suspended from school for fighting, and at one point lived out of his car while holding two jobs after being forced out of his home. Despite these hardships, Majors found a sense of stability and purpose when he joined a local theater program, an experience he has credited with changing the trajectory of his life.
The catalyst for his decision to pursue acting came after watching Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knight, in particular the portrayal of the Joker by Heath Ledger. Majors has cited Ledger’s performance as the reason he chose to become an actor and the inspiration for his desire to serve as a positive role model for others. He went on to study at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, before continuing his training at the Yale School of Drama, where he completed a Master of Fine Arts in 2016.
Path to Acting
While still enrolled at Yale, Jonathan Michael Majors secured his first professional on-screen role in the ABC miniseries When We Rise, in which he portrayed real-life gay activist Ken Jones. To prepare for the role, Majors met with Jones personally, demonstrating the deep research approach that would later define his career. That same year, he made his feature film debut as Corporal Henry Woodson in the revisionist Western film Hostiles, written and directed by Scott Cooper. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2017 and was later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Additional early film work followed quickly, including roles in the 2018 releases White Boy Rick and Out of Blue, both of which were shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. Out of Blue competed for the festival’s Platform Prize, signaling early industry recognition of Majors’s growing talent. These formative projects allowed him to build a reputation as a serious dramatic actor, paving the way for his breakthrough role in 2019.
Jonathan Majors Career
Early Career (2017–2019)
Jonathan Michael Majors’s first major period of screen work began with his appearance in Hostiles in 2017 and continued through a string of supporting film roles in 2018. In 2019, he starred in Joe Talbot’s independent film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, a role that earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination and widespread critical praise. The New York Times critic Manohla Dargis described his performance as a mournful heartbreaker, while Rolling Stone called it deeply sensitive and charmingly left-of-center. The film, released by A24, was named by former President Barack Obama as one of the best films of 2019. That same year, Majors also appeared in Captive State, Gully, and Jungleland, further broadening his filmography.
This early period was defined by Majors’s commitment to independent and character-driven projects, establishing a foundation of critical respect. His breakthrough role in The Last Black Man in San Francisco remains one of the most celebrated performances of his career and marked a turning point in his rise to wider recognition.
Breakthrough (2019–2023)
In 2020, Jonathan Michael Majors starred alongside Chadwick Boseman and Delroy Lindo in Spike Lee’s war drama Da 5 Bloods, released on Netflix. That same year, he took on the role of Atticus Freeman in the HBO horror series Lovecraft Country, a performance that earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and drew praise from outlets such as Vogue, which described him as the emotional core of the show. These two projects cemented his status as a leading man in both film and television.
In 2021, Majors portrayed the outlaw Nat Love in Jeymes Samuel’s Western film The Harder They Fall, sharing the screen with Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, and Delroy Lindo. He followed this with the role of Jesse L. Brown in the 2022 war film Devotion. In 2023, he co-starred opposite Michael B. Jordan in the sports film Creed III, playing the antagonist Dame Anderson, and also starred in Magazine Dreams, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Majors also entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe during this period, first appearing as He Who Remains in the Disney+ series Loki in 2021. He then portrayed Kang the Conqueror in the 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and returned to the role of Victor Timely in Loki’s second season. His portrayal of Kang positioned him as a central figure in the franchise’s future plans before his later departure from the role.
Notable Works and Milestones
Jonathan Michael Majors’s signature works include The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Da 5 Bloods, Lovecraft Country, The Harder They Fall, Creed III, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. His Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Lovecraft Country and his Independent Spirit Award nomination for The Last Black Man in San Francisco stand as key professional honors during this breakthrough period.
Jonathan Majors Award Nominations
Jonathan Michael Majors has earned recognition from major industry bodies for his dramatic performances. His most prominent nominations include a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Atticus Freeman in the HBO series Lovecraft Country and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his performance in The Last Black Man in San Francisco. These nominations reflect consistent critical regard across both independent and mainstream projects.
Jonathan Majors Awards Won
Jonathan Michael Majors received the Perseverance Award at the 2024 Hollywood Unlocked Impact Awards. The honor recognized individuals who continue to aspire and inspire in the face of adversity, highlighting Majors’s continued presence in the entertainment industry following a challenging period in his public life.
Jonathan Majors Family
Jonathan Michael Majors was raised primarily by his mother, a pastor, alongside his older sister and younger brother. His father, who served in the United States Air Force, was largely absent during his early years, though the two eventually reconnected in adulthood. Majors has a daughter, and he married actress Meagan Good in March 2025, having become engaged to her in November 2024 at Ebony magazine’s Power 100 event.
Personal Life
Jonathan Michael Majors began a relationship with British dancer Grace Jabbari in August 2021, having met her on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The couple separated in March 2023. Later that year, in May 2023, Majors began dating actress Meagan Good, whom he had first met in 2022. The couple became engaged in November 2024 and married in March 2025. He is the father of a daughter.
