Michael B. Jordan – “I went to therapy after filming ‘Black Panther!'”

Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan – “I went to therapy after filming ‘Black Panther!'”

Many actors and actresses go to great lengths to embody the characters they depict in television and film, and “Black Panther” actor Michael B. Jordan says becoming the villain, Erik Killmonger, took him to a dark place. So dark, in fact, that he sought professional counseling with a therapist to deprogram himself from the character.

Michael B. Jordan

During a recent taping of Oprah Winfrey‘s “Super Soul Conversations,” Michael opened up about the process of returning to himself after filming the Oscar-nominated film:

“I went to therapy, I started talking to people, starting unpacking a little bit. [It] helped me out a lot…It was a little tough for me at first. Readjusting to people caring about me, getting that love that I shut out. I shut out love, I didn’t want love. I wanted to be in this lonely place as long as I could.”

On how he pushed himself to to become Killmonger:

“I spent a lot of time alone. I figured Erik [Killmonger], his childhood growing up was pretty lonely. He didn’t have a lot of people he could talk to about this place called Wakanda that didn’t exist.”

He continued:

“Of course it’s an extreme, exaggerated version of the African diaspora from the African-American perspective, so to be able to take that kind of pain and rage and all those emotions that Erik kind of represents from being black and brown here in America … that was something I didn’t take lightly. When it was all over, I think just being in that kind of mind state … it caught up with me.”

On why he recommends therapy:

“Your mind is so powerful. Your mind will get your body past a threshold that it would have given up on way before. Honestly, therapy, just talking to somebody just helped me out a lot. As a man you get a lot of slack for it…I don’t really subscribe to that. Everyone needs to unpack and talk.“

Michael B. Jordan’s episode of “Super Soul Conversations” airs February 16, 2019. Watch a clip of one of his scenes as the intense Erik Killmonger in “Black Panther” below.

Written by Miata Shanay