Why Michael B. Jordan Needed Therapy After This Role

Published: January 6, 2026

By Gavin Boyle

Michael B. Jordan shared that he needed to go to therapy after exploring a character with only hate in his heart for BLACK PANTHER.

“After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit,” Jordan told The Hollywood Reporter. “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. You know, there’s no blueprint to [acting].”

“[My character] Erik didn’t really know a lot of love. I think Erik didn’t experience that,” Jordan added when explaining how he cut himself off from his family while filming to help stay in character. “He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration. And looking at history and how it would seem to always repeat itself, and how was he going to break that cycle.”

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Erik, also known as “Killmonger,” was a Navy SEAL who dealt with extreme anger over the treatment of marginalized groups across the world, as well as extreme pride, which eventually led to his death. His character helped bring to light the difficulties that our soldiers face and the trauma they carry with them when they return home. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:

BLACK PANTHER is exciting and sometimes redemptive, with tremendous special effects and fabulous production designs. The performances are well done. Chadwick Boseman makes the perfect Black Panther. Happily, the movie has less foul language than recent Marvel outings. That said, the plot gets a little too complicated, unfocused and talky, with too many characters, a few annoying politically correct canards, and some ancestor worship. Despite strong moral references about doing the right thing and helping people in need, the heroes in BLACK PANTHER overtly worship an Egyptian panther goddess.

While Jordan turned to therapy to decompress after the movie, he has also shared in the past that he relies on his faith to keep himself grounded as a major actor in Hollywood.

“[I’m] spiritual. Hands down. Grew up in church. I’ve always been the person to ask, ‘Why, why, why? Where’s the proof?’ I’ve always believed in a higher power, something bigger than myself. I think you would be foolish to not feel that way,” he previously explained.

Jordan’s need for therapy reveals just how taxing acting roles can be and why actors need to be careful about the jobs they choose to take, even when the characters they are portraying highlight something worth talking about.

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