Words by Nicole Collins
From online model to leading man, Micheal Ward has quickly risen to become one of Britain’s most promising young actors.
“Welcome to London, AKA the dungeon, shoot-outs and stabbings on like every other junction.”
Micheal Ward’s opening line in Blue Story encapsulates the essence of the cultural setting in which the majority of his roles transpire. Originally born in Jamaica, Ward has experienced a modern-day rag to riches story. In a year, he journeyed from a comfortable internet modelling career to television and movie stardom with roles including Jamie in Netflix’s rebooted Top Boy and Marco in Blue Story, echoing the trials and tribulations of young Black men hustling in the streets of London.
Born in Jamaica, Micheal and his mother moved to Romford, Essex aged four. From humble beginnings, it didn’t seem like Ward would be interested in an acting career – for him, it was all about football. During this time in school, Ward was undertaken as a football prodigy by coaches who believed he had talent. For a long time, Ward thought football would lead to his shining moment. It wasn’t until his school performed a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in which Ward played the role of Macduff, that drama presented itself as a potential hobby.
Even then, acting didn’t seem to entice Ward enough to be taken seriously; in old tweets that resurfaced on the internet, he was often found moaning about his drama classes. One particular tweet, dating back to January 2013, read: “in drama – some dead lesson.” His Twitter feed is an interesting article to read in itself – although Ward initially complained about taking drama, over time, the tweets became more enthusiastic, his interest for the subject increasing as time passed. By the end of that same year, he had tweeted “Drama performance today #letsgetit.”
Ward, now fully enthralled by acting, had signed up to a performing arts college. It was here that one of his teachers appeared to recognise his talents and signed him up to her independent talent agency. Sometime later, an audition for Canadian rapper Drake’s revival of Channel 4’s crime-drama Top Boy infatuated the then-22-year-old Ward. Micheal, who would go on to star as Jamie, initially auditioned for the role of Jamie’s brother. Needless to say, Ward was thrilled – as well as a little confused – when he was asked by the producers to come back to read for the part of Jamie.
What is compelling about Ward’s journey to fame is the short space of time in which he has made a name for himself. Before Top Boy, he lived off a career in modelling and appearing in small music video jobs. At 17, he was signed to JD and other e-commerce websites; at 25, he was named BAFTA’s Rising Star – an award previously honoured to celebrities such as John Boyega (2016) and, most recently, Letitia Wright at the 2019 ceremony. Ward seems exhilarated by his plunge into fame. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Ward recalls an encounter with his mother in which a fan stopped and asked for an autograph and picture. When questioned on whether this gesture irritated his mother, he said that she was “mad happy”, explaining that they “weren’t used to that kind of life… [they came] from Jamaica, literally from the mud.” For Ward and his mother, his success was welcomed and viewed as a godsend. It meant a better life for their family after years of struggle surrounding their migration to a foreign country.
In Top Boy and Blue Story, Ward depicts characters dealing with hardship as young Black men living in modern society. In the former, he plays Jamie, a boy from East London strategically climbing the ranks of a Hackney-based drug gang while attempting to support his younger brothers. Similarly, in Blue Story, Ward plays Marco, a brother of a gang member who becomes involuntarily involved in a postcode war. Although Ward appears to represent a struggling, poverty-stricken demographic, his life in Romford was a far cry from the events occurring in East and South London. Ward appears to recognise this, speaking on the matter to Sam Wolfson, affirming that he is “representing the hood, even though [he isn’t] from the hood.” Ward justifies his point further, stating that “there are really people living this life and you’re showing that you want to be able to help them.”
Ward’s attempt to be a voice for young Black men involved in gang culture is a beacon of hope for the Black community. It’s an issue that has never been more pertinent than now, with knife crime rates in the UK at an all-time high – an 80% increase in offences since March 2014 – to demonstrate a voice and support for Black men and women involved in crime.
When Blue Story premiered in November 2019, after just two days of release, the gang culture feature was banned from all Vue Cinemas due to a rowdy fight involving over 100 teenagers in Birmingham. It was extremely ironic that a film highlighting the nature of gang violence was then blamed for youth violence in the street. Ward was against the ban on the film – in an interview with GQ, he supported its release, claiming that “we need to lessen the numbers by continuing to put out these messages, because it’s incredibly important: people are losing their lives over nothing.”
Most recently, Ward has appeared in Steve McQueen’s series, Small Axe. In the 60-minute feature, Lovers Rock, Ward stars as Franklyn, a young Jamaican man who meets Martha (Amarah-Jae St Aubyn) at a reggae party in 1980s London. Lovers Rock pays tribute to the teenagers of the 70s-80s by reminiscing on the music, dancing and lifestyle of the young Black community living in London after the Empire Windrush brought thousands of West Indians to Britain, in an effort to help rebuild the country after World War Two. Once again, it’s clear that Ward focuses his talents on roles that pay homage to his beginnings. The hard, gritty dialect of the South London streets used in his Top Boy and Blue Story roles is drastically contrasted by the Jamaican Patois used by Franklyn and Martha in Lovers Rock, and serves as a reminder of Ward’s grind and journey to get where he is today – as BAFTA’s Rising Star 2020.
Micheal Ward claims he represents the hood with his gangland roles in mainstream television. But he also inadvertently manages to successfully represent the majority of Black men by providing a voice of empowerment and becoming a symbol of Black celebration through his meteoric rise to success.
Check out how Steve McQueen’s Small Axe shines a damning light on the British justice system here.