This Dominican-American Newcomer Will Play Colin Kaepernick In a New Netflix Series About His Life And We’re Stoked

Photo via jadenmichael/Instagram

In his 33 years on this planet, Colin Kaepernick has created an unforgettable legacy. Not only was he become an All-Pro quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, but he also became an activist that has changed pro sports forever and impacted even non-sports fans. While now it’s common to see pro athletes kneel during the national anthem, there was a time where that was not the case. Colin Kaepernick may not be playing football anymore, but he’s still making an impact in other ways. Kaepernick will soon have his very own Netflix series that will be a fictionalized version of his teenage years.

To make things more exciting, a young Dominican-American actor is stepping into Kap’s shoes. Jaden Michael, 17, will play a teenage Colin Kaepernick in the upcoming Netflix series, “Colin In Black & White.”

According to Deadline, “Colin In Black & White” will be a coming-of-age story that also tackles “the obstacles of race, class and culture as the Black adopted child of a white family in Central California.”

On Thursday, Colin Kaepernick released a statement expressing his excitement about Michael’s casting. “I’m excited to share this first peek into a project I co-created with the incomparable Ava DuVernay over the past couple of years,” Kaepernick said. “I look forward to the world meeting the incredible Jaden Michael, a young actor who plays me during my high school years, just a kid growing up in Turlock, California, who wanted to play ball.”

Colin Kaepernick will also narrate the entire series.

“Colin In Black & White” is a six-episode limited series from Netflix that will debut on Oct. 29th. The series won’t only feature Jaden Michael as a young Kaepernick, but Colin Kaepernick himself will make an appearance in at least the first episode.

It’s refreshing to see a Dominican actor landing such a prominent role. And one thing’s for sure: Jaden Michael is proud of his roots.

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Last year, Michael made his mark by appearing as Miguel Martinez in the horror-comedy flick, “Vampires vs. the Bronx.” In “Vampires vs. the Bronx,” Michael played a concerned teenager trying to save his neighborhood from dual horrors: vampires and gentrification.

In an interview with Popular TV, Jaden Michael expressed his passion for the cinema of his motherland. “There are so many Latin American and Caribbean stories to be told, and the proof comes from the countries themselves,” he said.

“I know first hand that the film industry in the Dominican Republic is just absolutely booming with content,” he added. “There are so many excellent Dominican films I’ve seen. It would be wonderful to be able to share these stories with my friends in the US.” He went on to name his favorite Dominican movies: “Reinbou”, “Sambá”, and “El Hombre Que Cuida”.

This isn’t the first time an Afro-Dominican actor headlined a culturally relevant Netflix show.

In 2019, Dominican-American actor Jharrel Jerome won an Emmy for his portrayal of Korey Wise in the Netflix series “When They See Us”. Just like “Colin In Black & White”, “When They See Us” was also an Ava DuVernay production. We love that Dominican-American actors are making their mark in Hollywood.