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Black Panther made me a better person, says Sinners star Michael B. Jordan

The experience of playing Black Panther antagonist Killmonger drove Michael B. Jordan to discover the benefits of therapy

A still from Black Panther
Image credit: Marvel Studios

Michael B. Jordan has never been bigger. From directing and starring in Creed III, to pulling double duty to play identical twins in one of the biggest movies of 2025, Sinners, the world is Michael B. Jordan's oyster. As Jordan's popularity grew from his role as Erik Stevens in 2018's Black Panther movie, it also provided the actor with a chance to look inwards and go to therapy. 

Speaking on CBS Sunday Morning, Michael B. Jordan revealed how the experience of playing Killmonger in Black Panther opened his eyes to some work he needed to do off-screen. "I think Erik didn’t experience [love]. He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration. 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," Jordan began.

"After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit. I 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. 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." 

Ultimately, Jordan said that going to therapy is something that he is "very proud of." The actor concluded,"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." 

Michael B. Jordan is nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for playing Smoke and Stack in Sinners. The Golden Globes will take place on Sunday, January 11 at 5 PM PT on CBS. We will be rooting for him. 


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Jules Chin Greene

Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.

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