Michael B. Jordan has revealed he needed therapy after starring in superhero movie Black Panther and it helped him become a “well-rounded person”.
Michael B. Jordan needed therapy after starring in Black Panther.
The 38-year-old actor played villainous Erik Killmonger in the 2018 superhero movie and the character “stuck” with him after filming finished so he went to see a therapist and the sessions helped him become a “well-rounded person”.
During an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, he explained: “Yes, it [the character] kind of stuck with me for a bit. And, you know, 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.”
He went on to reveal his therapy sessions “spiralled into a bigger conversation and self-discovery” and he now believes seeking professional help is “necessary for people” and “especially me”.
Jordan added: “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. And definitely helped me trying to be a good communicator and a well-rounded person, inside and out.”
The actor previously went to therapy to help him prepare for his role in 2023 boxing movie Creed III.
His co-star Tessa Thompson – who played Jordan’s onscreen wife – previously revealed the pair went to couples therapy to help them play a couple in the film.
She told Refinery29: “The line sometimes between character and us get blurred because we bring so much of what we’re exploring personally to the characters in general.
“I’ll say it was an early experience in couples therapy for us both [personally], but it was as these characters, which is very weird.
“But I think it reminded us of our own personal lives that going to therapy, even when a relationship is good, can be a good thing if you’re trying to just sharpen communication and figure out how someone works. It’s useful in so many relationships.”
She added of the sessions: “[It was] also reflecting on our own relationships. Since we’ve been making these movies for eight, nine years, we’ve seen each other through various stages in our own romantic things.
“We know stuff about each other’s lives. We shared and talked about it. So therapy ended up starting at work and getting more personal.”
Michael B. Jordan needed therapy after Black Panther
