“Sinners” star Michael B. Jordan, who secured his first Oscar victory during Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony, has said that he didn’t really know how to act when he first got started — and that he mostly learned on the job.
He’s not alone: Learning on the job can be a healthy approach for plenty of professionals across a variety of industries, so long as they’re nimble and inquisitive, says careers expert Patrice Williams-Lindo. “If professionals only accepted roles they were already fully qualified for, most careers would stall,” says Williams-Lindo, the founder and CEO of coaching business Career Nomad. “The healthy version of ‘fake it till you make it’ is really ‘learn it while you’re doing it.’”
For his part, Jordan broke into the entertainment industry at age 12 after a receptionist at his mother’s doctors’ office recommended he attend an audition that he promptly booked, he said during a panel discussion with Complex, published on YouTube in April 2018. His first roles included appearances on HBO’s “The Sopranos” and “The Wire,” and CBS’ “Cosby.” He then appeared on ABC’s soap opera “All My Children,” a job he worked for four years, said Jordan, now 39.
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