Michael B. Jordan is opening up about why he went to therapy after playing the villain in 2018’s Black Panther.
During a recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning, the Sinners star spoke about the impact of fully immersing himself in his Erik Killmonger role for the Ryan Coogler-directed Marvel film.
“After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit,” he said. “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.”
Jordan continued, “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.”
While preparing for the role, the Creed actor admitted he spent a lot of moments “isolated” and “didn’t really speak” to his family that much to maintain focus.
“Erik didn’t really know a lot of love. I think Erik didn’t experience that,” Jordan said. “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, which won three Oscars, follows T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, who must step forward to lead his people into a new future and confront a challenger from his country’s past. The film grossed $1.349 billion worldwide, leading to its sequel, 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.