Jonathan Majors’ Kang was supposed to be the big antagonist in the upcoming Avengers films and the climactic antagonist for the ‘Multiversal Saga’ of the MCU. However, the actor was dropped from future Marvel projects due to his legal troubles and eventual sentencing after being accused of assault.
The actor made his MCU debut with the Disney Plus series Loki, where he was introduced as He Who Remains, the protector of the Sacred Timeline. He also made an appearance in the box office disaster Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and was regarded as the best part of the film. Majors had mentioned his technique to get into character, which included a curated playlist that got the energy of the role right.
Jonathan Majors Used One Technique To Deliver Great Performances As Kang
Jonathan Majors rose to prominence quickly in his career as an actor. Starting out with supporting roles in films such as Hostiles and White Boy Rick, the actor got his breakthrough with the A24 film The Last Black Man In San Francisco. The film received acclaim from all around and was reportedly even included in Barrack Obama’s Best Films of 2019 list (via Vanity Fair).
Majors starred in multiple acclaimed films such as The Harder They Fall, Da 5 Bloods, and shows such as Lovecraft Country. The actor received an Emmy nomination for the latter. He made his debut as Kang the Conqueror in the Disney Plus series Loki. He received positive responses for his performance and the character was considered to be one of Marvel’s best villains.
Majors reprised his role as Kang in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Though the film was a critical and commercial failure, Majors’ performance was again lauded. The actor mentioned to The Hollywood Reporter that he used his music to get into character while on set and that it helped him deliver great performances. He said,
“Early on, I said to Peyton Reed [director of Ant-Man 3], ‘Hey, man, I want to play this song,’ and the song I played him was Stevie Wonder’s ‘If It’s Magic.’ That was the highlight that connected us. So if you know the tune, you know that it’s not a very Kang song. And yet, I felt that there was something so elemental in it that connected to Kang.”
Though Stevie Wonder’s If It’s Magic seems to be on the mellower side, Jonathan Majors seemed to find it helpful to get into an unhinged and calculative character like Kang. The actor also mentioned that he went for more music in the RnB genre than something darker.
How Did Music Prepare Jonathan Majors For His Role As Kang?
Actors use many methods and practices to help them get into character. While actors such as Jared Leto and Christian Bale prefer to undergo physical transformations, some actors resort to going through the same ordeal as their characters to get an authentic response. Some other actors prefer to get into character only when the camera is turned on.
Jonathan Majors, who played Kang in the MCU, reportedly used music to get into the mind of the timeline conqueror. The actor mentioned that his usual process was to create a playlist of songs that he thinks would suit a character on paper, and then explore various other styles that would not be traditionally associated with them. He said to THR,
“Music is so beautiful because it really speaks to your subconscious, and a funny thing happens every time I begin a project and try to put together a playlist. It’s the music on the surface that you think the script is asking you for, and that can be something like Requiem for a Dream. You think that that’s Kang, but it ends up connecting to something that is so deep in my subconscious.”
The actor also mentioned that at the end of the day, he uses music to communicate what he is feeling and to activate that part of the brain. He also mentioned that sometimes he would play music just to relax himself and the crew, and to get them into a rhythm.
