Michael B. Jordan’s ‘Black Panther’ Role Introduced Him To Therapy

After making his MCU debut in Black Panther (2018), Michael B. Jordan learned the importance of separating himself from his characters’ mindset.

The Golden Globe nominee explained that his Wakandan antagonist Erik Killmonger “didn’t really know a lot of love,” which prompted him to get therapy after completing production on the Ryan Coogler-helmed blockbuster.

“I think Erik didn’t experience that,” he said on CBS Sunday Morning. “He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration.”

Jordan explained, “So, for a while, in preparation for that role, I didn’t really speak to my family that much. I was kind of isolated a bit. I went into my hole and tried to live like he would have lived for a bit, whatever that process was.

In Black Panther, Killmonger’s father T’Chaka was killed by T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) father for smuggling vibranium out of Wakanda, prompting him to duel T’Challa for the throne.

Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman in ‘Black Panther’ (2018) (Matt Kennedy/Marvel/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)

“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,” added Jordan. “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, realizing that, ‘Oh man, I still got a little something on me I need to get off.’ Talking is really important.”

The Sinners star noted that his sessions “spiraled into a bigger conversation and self-discovery,” concluding that therapy “is necessary … especially for men.”

“So, that’s something I’m not ashamed of at all and very proud of,” he said. “It definitely helped me throughout the years and to this day of trying to be a good communicator and a well-rounded person, inside and out.”