Jonathan Majors is Ready For What's Next

"We've hit a point where we're all kind of hungry," Jonathan Majors says. "We want the narrative to be told. We want it to be truthful. The age of authenticity is upon us now." Majors covers the October issue of GQ with a profile by JM Holmes, and photos by Shaniqwa Jarvis.

In the last few years, Majors has emerged as one of Hollywood's most charismatic new leading men-a brilliant Yale-trained Method actor with a timeless appeal. Now he's channeling all his gifts into an urgent mission: bringing to life all the untold epics of Black America. For him, acting is another medium in which to tell these stories. And while the historical narratives are incredibly important, he's also ready to see more Black art depicting everyday struggles and happenings. "Marriage Story. Noah Baumbach, with our DNA, what does that look like?...An all-Black adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull...What would it look like if we had a Black person dealing with the opioid crisis? Not crack cocaine but the same thing that Bobby and Jane are doing. Can we tell that story? Where's our Beautiful Boy?"

Majors, who has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement and has spent much of his summer protesting and speaking up for racial equality in the wake of the George Floyd killing, has always been very vocal in the fight for social justice. "This is our war right now," he says. "And I feel very activated, and kind of enlisted." He continues, "There's a COVID test, and it's not what you think. It's not a matter of are you positive or negative for COVID, but how are you going to make it through this moment?"

Currently, Majors is on a career hot streak that appears to be lasting. He broke through in 2019's indie hit The Last Black Man in San Francisco. This summer he appeared in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods, a Netflix war drama featuring Chadwick Boseman's penultimate film performance. He is also the leading man in HBO's thrilling series, Lovecraft Country, which premiered in August. When the world shut down in March, he was on location in New Mexico for The Harder They Fall, a Black Western ensemble with Idris Elba. Most recently, he set the superhero world aflame with rumors of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year in Ant Man 3. He's ready for it all. "We got the ball now," he says. "I DON'T give a f how you get in the door...Go to work. Make it undeniable. It's our job as artists to stay bold. To continue the protest, continue the year of authenticity."

The full feature, with photos by Shaniqwa Jarvis, can be found here.

The October issue of GQ is on stands September 29.

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