Michael B. Jordan is opening up about how he received therapy after playing the “Black Panther” villain Erik Killmonger.
The 38-year-old actor explained he sought professional help after portraying the antagonist in Ryan Coogler’s 2018 blockbuster, as he wanted to find the best way to separate himself from Killmonger’s isolating mindset.
Speaking on CBS Sunday Morning, Jordan said, “After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit. [I] Went to therapy, talked about it, found a way to kind of just decompress. And I think at that point, I was still learning that I needed to decompress from a character. You know, there’s no blueprint to this. Acting is a solo journey a lot of times. Auditioning by yourself, practicing by yourself. There’s a lot of preparation and the experience and the journey. So learning as I went, I [realized] that, ‘Oh man, I still got a little something on me I need to get off.’ You know, talking is really important.”
Michael B. Jordan speaks at a press conference for “Just Mercy” during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2019. Jordan stars in the new film “Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
The “Creed” star explained he had spent a lot of time “isolated” and “didn’t really speak” to his family in order to prepare for his “Black Panther” role, saying, “Erik didn’t really know a lot of love. I think Erik didn’t experience that. He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration. And looking at history and how it would seem to always repeat itself, and how was he going to break that cycle.”
“Black Panther” follows T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he returns home to Wakanda to claim the throne after his father’s death and step into his role as king. When the powerful outsider Erik Killmonger (Jordan) challenges his rule, T’Challa must confront his nation’s past and decide what kind of leader – and hero – he will become.
Michael B. Jordan arrives at 14th annual Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
The movie also starred Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue and Forest Whitaker as Zuri.
Jordan’s comments come after Coogler revealed he wanted “Spider-Man” villain Kraven the Hunter to face off with T’Challa alongside Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue from “Black Panther.”
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