I also spent time with the 26-year-old Jordan, and can’t remember the last time I met an engaging young actor like this with such global star potential. Jordan admits that as a youth he lucked into great roles on two classic TV series — The Wire and Friday Night Lights – and the Newark-born actor (“Brick City, baby,” to be more precise) is eager to advance to the point he makes things happen for himself instead of relying on more luck. But all of this is so sudden. When they made Fruitvale Station with, as Jordan says, “$900,000 and some duct tape,” his dream was simply to get into Sundance. He didn’t see the finished film until its Sundance premiere, and found himself bawling like everyone else, as two deaths in the movie reminded him of the death of a friend he rode motorcycles with, who’d crashed when Jordan wasn’t with him (he tears up with the memory when we speak). It won both top prizes and now he was trying to wrap his arms around his first ever trip to France. He’d walk the Croisette and be amazed by the reaction from people who’ve seen his film, even hearing someone shout “Where’s Wallace?” which is a pivotal moment from The Wire.
