For actor Jonathan Majors, no matter how repetitive, mundane or grand life’s tasks are, he completes each gesture with divine reverence. “[With] a sense of occasion is kind of how I move through the world,” Majors says. He’s referring to the small but intentional acts he undertakes, whether he’s walking into a photo studio, sitting down for an interview, or starring as the big, bad villain Kang the Conqueror in the next Avengers film—actually, the next three Avengers movies; Marvel Studios will be keeping Majors very busy through 2026.

“I think [Quantumania] is ultimately about our relationship to time as human beings and how time plays within our relationships,” says Majors. “Love, friendship, legacy…that’s what the story is about. And every character—from Hank to Janet to Scott—all of us are touched by that, and deal with the threat or promise of time in a different way.”

Jonathan Majors wears an Oji Royale Durag, L’Enchanteur rings and Sewit Sium necklace. Photo by Keith Major for EBONY Media.

EBONY: The theme for your EBONY cover shoot was “Supreme Swagger Meets Romance.” When did you first discover you had swagger?

Jonathan Majors: I was told many times that I didn’t have swagger. [Laughs] I was told I wasn’t cool. I was forced to be an individual in order to survive. I had to believe in my own way of doing things. And that’s what swagger is, you know. It’s a supreme confidence in how one thinks and what one is capable of doing. Also, with that comes a huge amount of humility, because you can’t swag at the wrong spot, because it ain’t swaggy. I think about [my character] Nat Love in The Harder They Fall, because I remember [how much swag] my director, Jeymes Samuel, had. When you say “swag,” I think about Hov—Jay-Z. I would never think of myself. Yet, I do have a very clear confidence in how I move through the world. It’s a lack of fear of being seen. And I think as I worked more, the arts began to give me that.

I know you’re a doting dad. What are some ways that you’re expanding your 9-year-old daughter’s world so that she never accepts the bare minimum?

One of the most beautiful things we talk about is need versus want. I grew up very needy, meaning there are things I needed that I didn’t have. Fortunately for my kid, she’s not in that position. I worked very hard and continue to work hard—not just for the present, but for the future. She doesn’t have to do that, but she does understand.

We teach worth and value in our household, and self-worth. A big thing is, as she changes her hair up, I’m very clear to tell her I liked it the way it was. I love it now; I loved it then. Another thing we teach is smiling. Your emotions belong to you. No man can make you do anything or feel anything. And like her father, she’s not easily impressed. Yeah, I mean, big-head boys are going to have a hard time dealing with her. I feel bad for [them], because then you have to deal with her and me.

Jonathan wears a Marquise Foster cape, Dsquared2 shorts, Golden Goose sneakers and Stylist’s own necklace. Photo by Keith Major for EBONY Media.

Now I’ll play the bad guy, I’ll play the good guy, I’ll play the morally corrupt guy. Because my job is to tell stories, and to tell stories in a way that allows people to see themselves and to change for the better. But early on, I had one rule for myself, and I say it to younger actors, too: Keep your rent low, and you don’t have to panic.

Being an actor has never been an ego trip for me. Quite the opposite; it’s quite humbling. You’re always playing somebody bigger, faster, stronger, smarter than you, deeper than you. Which is why you have to do so much work [in preparation for a role]. So no, I never felt pressured to do that. But now it’s the same old thing; I do the same old stuff every day. The world is changing around me. My job is to stay the same, to grow versus change.

I pick roles where I go, ‘Is this going to challenge me to be a better human being? Is it going to hurt? Is it going to scare me?’ Because if I can overcome it, if I can heal the character, I can heal myself. If I heal myself and people are watching, other people will be healed.

How has the work you’re starting with the Sidney Poitier Initiative, and knowing his legacy, impacted your choices as an actor?

What I’m most focused on is staying power. Anyone can get a movie. I’ve seen it, done it. [But] how do you get a movie, and get another movie, and then do well enough in this movie to move the box office, the culture and yourself forward? That has to happen with every film. Now, you can do it sometimes where you just push the box office through the roof, and that will mitigate those other two lacking parts. For me, The Last Black Man in San Francisco pushed the culture through the roof, pushed my artistry through the roof. It did nothing in the box office; it wasn’t meant to. And yet those things are fishtailing into Lovecraft Country, which then fishtailed into Da 5 Bloods, which is huge. All these things connect. What meetings to take, what meetings not to take. Little things we were talking about, like when to say no, how to say no.

You were revealed as He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror, in the Loki season 1 finale. When you met Loki, there was a double entendre when you said, “Not what you were expecting, hmm?” But unlike your fellow actors in big tentpole films—namely, John Boyega in the Star Wars franchise—when you debuted on-screen, there was no racial backlash. Why do you think that is?

Well, it’s not too late. [Laughs] Yeah, I thought it would’ve come by now, but we’ll see. People are crazy. Why do I not think it’s happened? I don’t know. I feel blessed. I was thinking about my sister Moses Ingram [who costarred in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi], who was also attacked. Perhaps the Star Wars camp is different. I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ve gotten it much in the Marvel world.

Jonathan wears a Valentino shirt, Louis Vuitton pants, Sewit Sium bracelets, and Sewit Sium and Third Crown necklaces. Photo by Keith Major for EBONY Media.

Last, what’s a question every man should ask himself?

“Was it worth it?” It highlights a certain amount of cognitive dissonance where you have to reflect. I don’t think men reflect enough. I think if you ask yourself if it’s worth it before you act, you’ll be on the path, you’ll be on the proper righteous path. “Was it worth it?” also speaks to the man you want to be—because that’s the meter you’re checking it against.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & SVP, PROGRAMMING: MARIELLE BOBOCREATIVE DIRECTOR: RASHIDA MORGAN BROWNPHOTO DIRECTOR/PHOTOGRAPHER: KEITH MAJORASSOC. CREATIVE DIRECTOR/HEAD OF VIDEO: STEVEN CORNELLOVIDEO BY: MEGA MEDIADP: GAGE ZANGHIASSISTANT CAMERA: EVAN WERNERGAFFER: RUSSELL BURGERSWING: GABE SOLORZANOSOUND MIXER: JONAH MILES PRENDERGASTPHOTO ASSISTANTS: CESAR REBOLLAR, SAONI FORTUNADIGITAL TECH: SHERRIDON POYERPHOTO INTERN: MADISON MCKNIGHTSTYLIST: ALEXANDER-JULIAN GIBBSONSTYLIST ASSISTANTS: RACHAEL BETTENCOURT, BROWNIE BROWNTAILOR: LEROY GOUGHGROOMER: BARRY WHITE FOR KEEPING THEM WELL GROOMEDSET DESIGN: CHRISTOPHER STONESET ASSISTANT: JEREMY MCLENNANEXECUTIVE PRODUCER: TRACEY WOODSPRODUCTION ASSISTANT: KYLE KNIGHTRETOUCHER: DIGITAL 805 RETOUCHING