Michael B. Jordan Says Killmonger Role Sent Him to Therapy
Michael B. Jordan Says Playing Killmonger In ‘Black Panther’ Sent Him to Therapy
Method actors can submerge themselves into a role so far that it can be difficult to separate themselves from the characters they’re playing.
For Michael B. Jordan, the role of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther ended with Jordan going to therapy to work through some issues that bubbled to the surface. Jordan told CBS Sunday Morning that Killmonger “didn’t really know a lot of love,” which he says prompted him to get therapy after shooting was finished on the Ryan Coogler-helmed blockbuster.
“I think Erik didn’t experience that,” he said. “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 the movie, “Kilmonger’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,” Deadline reports.
“After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit. I went to therapy, talked about it, and 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 around the 15-minute mark.
“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 added that the therapy 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.”
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