Michael B. Jordan gave an incredible performance as Erik “Killmonger” Stevens in the Marvel Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But the role had an impact on him.
During an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Jordan said he needed to “decompress” after the role.
Jordan shared that he “went to therapy and talked about it. Found a way to kind of just decompress, I think at that point still learning that I needed to decompress from a character.”
Jordan explained that his therapy around the role “spiraled into a bigger conversation and self-discovery.
“Okay, you know, I think that’s something that’s necessary for people.’”
“Especially men. I think it’s good for them to go and talk. That’s something I’m not ashamed of at all, and very proud of,” Jordan explained. Also, his therapist “definitely helped me trying to be a good communicator and a well-rounded person, inside and out.”
Jordan shared that he tapped into the spirit of “Killmonger.”
“Erik didn’t really know a lot of love. I think Erik didn’t experience that,” Jordan explained. “He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration.”
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly at the time of the first film’s release in 2018, Jordan shared his excitement about the character.
“Being the protagonist usually means being morally correct. And being pained with making good decisions all the time,” he said. “When you’re an antagonist, you can blur those lines and be a little less on-point, morally. There are less boundaries, you know what I’m saying? You can be a little loose and have a little more fun. It’s dope.”
Black Panther starred the late Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, and Winston Duke.
Released in February 2018, the film grossed $1.34 billion worldwide.