Michael B. Jordan Sought Therapy After Killmonger Role

Michael B. Jordan has revealed that portraying the complex villain Erik Killmonger in the 2018 Marvel film Black Panther prompted him to seek therapy, a step he credits with helping him decompress from the role's emotional weight.

In a recent interview on CBS Sunday Morning, the actor described how the character lingered with him after production wrapped. "After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit," Jordan said. "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." He emphasized that acting often feels like a solitary endeavor, involving personal preparation without a clear guide. "Auditioning by yourself, practicing by yourself. There's a lot of preparation and the experience and the journey," he explained. "So learning as I went, I realized that, 'Oh man, I still got a little something on me I need to get off.' You know, talking is really important."

To embody Killmonger, Jordan immersed himself deeply during preparation, isolating from his support network. "For a while, in preparation for that role, I didn't really speak to my family that much," he...