Film In June 2014, it was announced that Jackson had been cast to portray his father,
Ice Cube, in
Straight Outta Compton, a
biographical film about
N.W.A. In 2017, Jackson played Dan Pinto, the
Batman-obsessed aspiring screenwriter, landlord and love interest of
Aubrey Plaza's character Ingrid Thorburn in the film
Ingrid Goes West, with many critics—including the
Los Angeles Times,
Vulture, and
Collider—commenting on his scene-stealing abilities. In 2018, Jackson starred in the film
Den of Thieves, which also included
50 Cent and
Gerard Butler. Jackson appears in two May 2019 movies. He has a supporting role as Lance in the romantic comedy
Long Shot alongside
Charlize Theron and
Seth Rogen, playing the best friend of Rogen's character. In
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he portrays Barnes, the leader of the G-Team, the special military forces group run specializing in battles involving Titans. Also in 2019, Jackson co-starred with
Michael B. Jordan,
Jamie Foxx, and
Brie Larson in the drama
Just Mercy. He portrays
Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of murder. In an interview with
XXL Magazine, Jackson said that "Some people say I sound like OMG. No one has compared me or tried to match me up with other artists." In 2015, Jackson appeared in
Pia Mia's music video for her song "Touch". He also appeared in American hip hop duo
Twenty88's music video, "Out of Love", promoting their self-titled debut extended play.
Television On February 6, 2018, Jackson played hip hop legend
Kool Herc in a segment of
Drunk History. On October 4, 2019, Jackson made a guest appearance on the debut of
WWE SmackDown on Fox. Jackson starred opposite
Dave Franco in the comedy series
The Now. It was originally set to be released on
Quibi, but was ultimately released on
The Roku Channel on December 10, 2021. In the 2021 basketball drama show,
Swagger, Jackson plays Ike Edwards, a former rising star who struggles to coach a young high-stake basketball team. The series premiered on October 29, 2021 on
Apple TV+. He played Kawlan Roken in the
Disney+ Star Wars series,
Obi-Wan Kenobi. On May 15, 2025, Jackson made a special guest appearance on that night's edition of
TNA Impact!. ==Personal life==