Two Samoan brothers from California are behind the choreography work in the new Michael Jackson biopic, building on a long career that includes working directly with the King of Pop.

The brothers also worked with Michael Jackson on major projects.

In the new film, they played an important role in preparing actor Jaafar Jackson, teaching him Michael Jackson’s signature moves and performance style.

Rich and Tone were first discovered by Michael Jackson’s team when they were just 15 and 17 years old. Earlier in their career, in 2002, they also choreographed Michael Jackson’s “You Rock My World” music video, one of his major later hits and contributed to major productions including MJ: The Musical and the new biopic.

Speaking in an online interview with PMN News, Tone Talauega said he was proud to represent Samoa in such a major global production.

“Just to let all the Polynesians know, yes, there are two Samoans behind all that, too. We had a piece in the magic of creating this incredible film. I’m just very proud of the work that we did honouring the King of Pop,” he said.

Rich said working with Michael Jackson had been a lifelong dream.

“Our dreams came true. That was definitely one of the dreams we had, especially growing up during that era,” he said. He said working on the new film brought that journey full circle.

“It feels like we have been living the dream since 1995, and to be able to work on this film — wow, I guess it’s a full circle twice.”

The brothers said their Samoan background strongly influenced their careers in entertainment. Tone said that when they began in the early 1990s, there were very few Polynesian role models in Hollywood. He added that they did not realise at the time that they were the only two Samoans working at the highest levels of the industry.

“Being of Samoan heritage means the world to us because there are not a lot of us in entertainment,” he said.

Rich said they were motivated by their parents, Ropati and Talauega, and the desire to honour their family name.

“It’s all about mum and dad. We were doing our best to represent their names, Ropati and Talauega,” he said.

The brothers also said Samoan dance traditions helped shape their creative style, blending island movement with pop, R&B, and street dance.

“We started to mature and understand how important it was to represent our people on this level. We do not only do it for us. We also do it for our entire island back home,” Tone said.

The brothers said they come from a small place on the globe that is often barely visible, but it carries a lot of strength and pride.

Their work in entertainment also includes several major projects. They choreographed and appeared in Chris Brown’s “Wall To Wall” music video, and later worked on Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show, which featured a Viking-themed performance.