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Why Michael B. Jordan isolated himself from loved ones for his ‘Black Panther’ role

Bringing life to Killmonger was an emotionally taxing experience for him.

Michael B Jordan
Photo via Shareif Ziyadat / Getty Images

With a brand new trailer for Creed III out in the wild after last night’s big game, Michael B Jordan has been out on the press circuits promoting the film. As these things often tend to go, the conversation sometimes deviates from the film in question and to the actor’s other iconic roles.

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During a chat with Rolling Stone, the actor had a conversation about his now-iconic role as Killmonger in Black Panther. While his performance was absolutely outstanding and he stands among Marvel’s greatest villains, Jordan mused about the role being extremely emotionally taxing.

The actor revealed that he distanced himself from family, friends and children while shooting Ryan Coogler’s 2018 film, as he immersed himself in his frustrations as a Black man and the centuries of oppression the community at large has faced:

“Killmonger allowed me to access the pain. And the unapologetic frustration that I had. But then, obviously, there’s a sadness that comes along with that. I dove into that for a lot longer than I ever had before. So coming out of that, it was hard to want love. Because during shooting I kept myself from family and children, and away from everything that Killmonger never had.”

Jordan, of course, reprised his role as Killmonger for a surprise cameo in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The star had to keep an extremely tight lid on his appearance, withholding the information from even his own family

We’ll be seeing Michael B Jordan squaring off with Marvel’s new big bad, Jonathan Majors, in Creed III on March 3, 2023.