Michael B. Jordan: Being First Black Actor to Play Tom Clancy Character John Clark Is 'Fulfilling'

Michael B. Jordan's career is coming full circle with his latest movie.

The actor stars in Amazon Studios' upcoming action film Tom Clancy's Without Remorse as John Clark, a super soldier who sometimes appears in the Jack Ryan universe.

Jordan is the first Black actor to take over the role, as Clark's character has previously been played by William Dafoe and Liev Schreiber.

For PEOPLE's reigning Sexiest Man Alive, the role was extra special thanks to his childhood connection to the character.

"As a kid, I'd play John Clark in the video games Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon and imagine myself in that role. So for everything to come full circle and to be able to play him in real life, it's really fulfilling," Jordan, 34, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.

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The gritty movie serves as an origin story for Clark, who starts the movie as an elite Navy SEAL who suddenly finds himself at the center of a conspiracy between the U.S. and Russia. The role pushed Jordan to extremes, with major water stunts and action sequences.

"It was definitely very, very intense. The stunts were high-intensity moments, though they were also fun," he says. "I trained for each one specifically. Weapons training, military diving, tactical training, close-quarter combat training."

"But I think after developing and living with this character for a couple of years, you start to become them after a while, and it becomes a little bit easier to go to those places because you care so much about them," he adds. "And then [to decompress], you go on a nice vacation after!"

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse starts streaming on Amazon Prime Video April 30.

For more about Michael B. Jordan, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.