With worldwide earnings exceeding $700 million, Michael has broken records as one of the best-performing music biopics of all time. Fans are flocking back to the theater to experience it over and over, and social media fan pages are full of talk about the King of Pop. A whole new legion of fans is discovering Michael Jackson and doing deep dives into his life, uncovering new aspects of the mysterious pop star.
We all know about his record-setting Grammy night in 1984 following the release of “Thriller” and his iconic “Billie Jean” performance at Motown 25. But even with so many history-making moments heralded, there are a whole lot more worth knowing. For new fans and younger generations bumping his music on streaming platforms, here are seven facts about the pop star that also cement his creative-genius icon status.
He soundtracked video games
Remember that scene in Michael when the pop star goes to the toy store? It turns out that in real life, the star was more than just a fan of board games like Twister; he was ahead of the curve in his interest in video games, which were exploding in the 1980s and 1990s. So it tracks that Michael Jackson was also involved in the making of some of the most memorable and hidden-gem games of the era.
He gave an (uncredited) helping hand to the Sega team on the soundtrack for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in 1994. More notably, the pop star was a character in Sega’s music-based game Space Channel 5, where he voices Space Michael.
He used cutting-edge technology in his projects
We know the singer was a pioneer in music, but he also wanted to chart new territory on screen. His fierce energy caught the attention of many filmmakers in the 1980s, including Francis Ford Coppola and sci-fi legend George Lucas.
After The Wiz came out in 1978, the pop star got to work on Captain EO. Michael played the lead in the 1986 cosmic adventure short film, which ran at Disney Parks until 1998. Audiences were electrified as Michael sang and saved the galaxy, and the film’s advanced 4D technology made guests feel like they were in the movie alongside the star.
He allowed his pets to inspire his work
No matter big or small, the pop star had a place in his heart for all creatures, as noted by his animal and environmental welfare anthem “Earth Song.” We’ve seen the iconic photos of MJ with his best furry buddy, Bubbles the chimp, as the two were splashed all over the headlines.
In the Michael movie, we also got a glimpse of the pop star’s gentle animal-loving side with two of his other beloved pets. At family dinners, the young pop star would bring his pet rat to the table, according to his sister La Toya Jackson. Perhaps more shocking was Muscles, a Burmese Python, which he even introduced to producer Quincy Jones.
He collaborated with a famous family member
This may sound obvious when you look at the lineup of the Jackson 5/Jacksons and MJ’s duets with his sister, Janet Jackson, but Michael had another famous relative who wasn’t in the family band. Legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, a revolutionary in his own right, is a maternal cousin to the Jackson siblings.
Of course, a family connection like that couldn’t go to waste. The vocal powerhouses joined forces on the 1987 track “Just Good Friends,” a duet featured on Michael Jackson’s Bad album.
He earned a rare spot in the National Film Registry
Michael Jackson wanted his music videos to stand out from the crowd. When the music video for his hit “Thriller” debuted in 1983, it grabbed national and global attention for its special effects, a new territory for the music video genre, and its iconic dance sequence.
Years later, in 2009, the 14-minute video was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry, run by the Library of Congress. To this day, it’s the only music video to claim a spot in the famed archive.
He owned it all
Michael Jackson wasn’t just a musical phenomenon — he was also one of the smartest businessmen in entertainment. He owned significant rights to his music, giving him rare financial control at a time when many artists, especially Black artists, struggled to maintain ownership of their work. In 1985, MJ made history by purchasing ATV Music Publishing. The catalog included more than 4,000 songs, including much of The Beatles’ catalog.
The deal transformed Jackson into a major force in the music business and helped reshape conversations around artist ownership and wealth in entertainment. His empire would continue to expand into film production, merchandising, touring, and global brand partnerships.
His charitable efforts transformed lives
One of the most devastating scenes in Michael is when the pop star is walking around the hospital ward after his on-set accident while filming the Pepsi commercial in 1984. We see him wanting to help the other victims in the burn ward, something that the scriptwriters took straight from real life.
The singer donated his $1.5 million settlement to establish the Michael Jackson Burn Center in the Brotman Medical Center in California. He continued to give to causes close to his heart, including the more than $60 million raised for famine relief in Africa with “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity single he co-wrote. In 1992, he established the Heal the World Foundation to aid impoverished children and a year later, the Neverland Zoo Foundation to protect endangered animals.