Black Panther actor Michael B Jordan sought therapy after ‘lonely’ villain role
The actor struggled to break out from his character's mindset when cameras stopped rolling
Michael B Jordan has revealed that he got so deep into his role as the villain in Black Panther that he sought therapy.
The actor, who plays Kilmonger in the Marvel superhero film, told Oprah Winfrey that he spent so much time isolating himself for the role that it was hard to get out of the villain’s mindset when cameras stopped rolling.
He was speaking on Winfrey’s podcast, “SuperSoul Conversations,” when he said: “I spent a lot of time alone,” Jordan said. “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.”
The most shocking film twists of all time
The most shocking film twists of all time
1/37 Arrival (2016)
The twist: Louise deciphers the language, which gives her the ability to see into the future. What we thought were flashbacks are, in fact, flash-forwards – her daughter is yet to be born.
2/37 Atonement (2007)
The twist: Only, they didn’t. We learn that this is another lie from an older Briony – both Robbie and Cecilia died in the war.
3/37 Chinatown (1974)
The twist: After being confronted by Gittes, Evelyn reveals that Katherine is also her daughter – and the result of being raped by her father when she was 15.
4/37 The Crying Game (1992)
The twist: Dil is transgender, and was born male. Fergus's love for her sees him take the fall for a shooting she commits.
5/37 Dark City (1998)
The twist: His search for meaning sees him reach the end of the city. With nowhere left to go, he breaks through a wall and finds the city is actually an island floating through outer space.
6/37 The Departed (2006)
The twist: Both end up dead. A shocking sequence sees Sullivan kill Costigan who believes he's got away with it. Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) sees to that in an equally as shocking climactic scene.
7/37 Les Diaboliques (1955)
The twist: Her husband faked his death with the help of his mistress. The pair wanted to make Christina believe she committed the murder in an attempt to destroy her.
8/37 The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The twist: Skywalker’s delivered a blow after making a pretty huge discovery: the villain is his father. Cue shock and awe.
9/37 Fight Club (1999)
The twist: The narrator and Tyler are dissociated personalties – AKA they are the same person.
10/37 The Game (1997)
The twist: It really was just a game the entire time, set up by his brother who wasn't killed at all.
11/37 Get Out (2017)
The twist: He’s not wrong – only Rose is in on the conspiracy. After uncovering photos of black men she’s had prior relationships with, Chris is abducted, realising that he’s been lured to her cult-like family who want to implant their loved ones’s brains into the body of younger black bodies.
12/37 Gone Girl (2014)
The twist: Mid-way through the film, all becomes clear – Amy faked her abduction and spent months framing her husband in revenge for his extra-marital digressions.
13/37 Goodnight Mommy (2014)
The twist: One of the twins actually died in the crash. The other, unable to accept his brother's death, has merely imagined him to be alive the whole time and exacts revenge, blaming their mother for his death.
14/37 Identity (2003)
The twist: The strangers comprise the split personalities of the convict. The motel is a fabricated reality via which doctors are attempting to find out which one is causing his murderous tendencies. They zone in on limo driver Ed (John Cusack) without realising they've selected the wrong one: the murderous personality is a nine-year-old kid named Timmy.
15/37 Iron Man 3 (2013)
The twist: He succeeds – but learns that the Mandarin is actually a British actor called Trevor Slattery who has been hired by the actual people responsible.
16/37 Kill List (2011)
The twist: The Hunchback is actually his imprisoned wife with their son strapped to her back. After he kills them, he is crowned by the cultists.
17/37 Memento (2000)
The twist: The man responsible only raped his wife and Leonard killed him years ago – he just can't remember it. His wife's actual killer is... himself. His real name? Sammy Jankis.
18/37 Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The twist: Mid-way through the film, Maggie breaks her neck after being sucker punched during a fight. What was a feel-good underdog story swiftly turns into a hard-hitting drama about euthanasia.
19/37 The Mist (2007)
The twist: As he’s gearing up to put the gun to his own head, shadowy figures roll toward him. He’s devastated to learn it’s actually the military who have combatted the mist creatures. He killed his son for no reason. Talk about awful timing.
20/37 Oldboy (2003)
The twist: The girl is actually his daughter. His captors orchestrated their meeting.
21/37 Orphan (2009)
The twist: Esther is actually a 33-year old murderer who has a condition stunting her physical growth.
22/37 The Others (2001)
The twist: In a spin on the ghost story, it turns out it's Grace and her children who are the ghosts: she killed them – before turning the gun on herself – in despair over the presumed death of her husband in World War II.
23/37 The Prestige (2006)
The twist: It emerges that Fallon, the bearded carer of Borden’s children, is actually his twin (he’s also played by Bale) while Angier’s technique is far more disturbing: each night, using Tesla’s technology, he sends his clone plummeting into a water tank.
24/37 Planet of the Apes (1968)
The twist: As Charlton Heston’s character escapes his cell, he eventually finds the Statue of Liberty protruding from sand. Turns out it’s not just any planet – it’s Earth.
25/37 Primal Fear (1996)
The twist: He faked the disorder. The film's closing moments see him drop the stutter and reveal his guilt as his attorney looks on, disturbed.
26/37 Psycho (1960)
The twist: Only, it's not his mother – it’s Norman. He killed his mother years before and has since developed a split personality.
27/37 Saw (2004)
The twist: Instead, he finds a cassette recorder that reveals his supposed captor was, in fact, another victim of the Jigsaw killer who was merely following his rules in order to obtain an antidote for a poison in his body. Cue a corpse in the middle of the room rising to reveal himself as the real Jigsaw killer. He was there the whole time.
28/37 Seven (1995)
The twist: He has one final murder left to commit – only he’s already committed it. We discover Doe has killed Mills’s wife (Gwyneth Paltrow), which prompts him to complete Doe’s plan by murdering him out of wrath.
29/37 Shutter Island (2010)
The twist: Teddy is actually a patient, and his partner is his doctor. He killed his wife after she murdered their three children and the elaborate ruse is an attempt to bring his repressed memories to the surface.
30/37 The Sixth Sense (1999)
The twist: Crowe is, in fact, dead all along. He got killed during a robbery that we see in the film’s opening scene.
31/37 Sleepaway Camp (1983)
The twist: Angela is the killer. She's also not Angela at all, but her presumed dead brother Peter, who was raised as a girl by her aunt following Angela's death.
32/37 The Skin I Live In (2011)
The twist: The Vera we're seeing is not wis wife, but a young man whom Robert abducted and subjected to a vaginoplasty six years before.
33/37 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
The twist: He shows up to his date's house, knocks on the door... and comes face to face with The Vulture. He's her father.
34/37 Unbreakable (2000)
The twist: Elijah is the biggest criminal of them all. When David shakes his hand at the end of the film, he sees that “Mr Glass” is the mastermind behind numerous terrorist attacks – including the train crash he survived.
35/37 The Usual Suspects (1995)
The twist He made the whole thing up – Kint is Keyser Soze.
36/37 The Visit (2015)
The twist: Their mother becomes disturbed when she sees her parents while Skyping her children - it’s not them. It emerges that these imposters are mental home patients who murdered the couple, and have now taken up residence in their house.
37/37 The Wicker Man (1973)
The twist: The girl was never missing – it was just an elaborate hoax to lure an out-of-towner so the island's residents could sacrifice him to their Sun God.
1/37 Arrival (2016)
The twist: Louise deciphers the language, which gives her the ability to see into the future. What we thought were flashbacks are, in fact, flash-forwards – her daughter is yet to be born.
2/37 Atonement (2007)
The twist: Only, they didn’t. We learn that this is another lie from an older Briony – both Robbie and Cecilia died in the war.
3/37 Chinatown (1974)
The twist: After being confronted by Gittes, Evelyn reveals that Katherine is also her daughter – and the result of being raped by her father when she was 15.
4/37 The Crying Game (1992)
The twist: Dil is transgender, and was born male. Fergus's love for her sees him take the fall for a shooting she commits.
5/37 Dark City (1998)
The twist: His search for meaning sees him reach the end of the city. With nowhere left to go, he breaks through a wall and finds the city is actually an island floating through outer space.
6/37 The Departed (2006)
The twist: Both end up dead. A shocking sequence sees Sullivan kill Costigan who believes he's got away with it. Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) sees to that in an equally as shocking climactic scene.
7/37 Les Diaboliques (1955)
The twist: Her husband faked his death with the help of his mistress. The pair wanted to make Christina believe she committed the murder in an attempt to destroy her.
8/37 The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The twist: Skywalker’s delivered a blow after making a pretty huge discovery: the villain is his father. Cue shock and awe.
9/37 Fight Club (1999)
The twist: The narrator and Tyler are dissociated personalties – AKA they are the same person.
10/37 The Game (1997)
The twist: It really was just a game the entire time, set up by his brother who wasn't killed at all.
11/37 Get Out (2017)
The twist: He’s not wrong – only Rose is in on the conspiracy. After uncovering photos of black men she’s had prior relationships with, Chris is abducted, realising that he’s been lured to her cult-like family who want to implant their loved ones’s brains into the body of younger black bodies.
12/37 Gone Girl (2014)
The twist: Mid-way through the film, all becomes clear – Amy faked her abduction and spent months framing her husband in revenge for his extra-marital digressions.
13/37 Goodnight Mommy (2014)
The twist: One of the twins actually died in the crash. The other, unable to accept his brother's death, has merely imagined him to be alive the whole time and exacts revenge, blaming their mother for his death.
14/37 Identity (2003)
The twist: The strangers comprise the split personalities of the convict. The motel is a fabricated reality via which doctors are attempting to find out which one is causing his murderous tendencies. They zone in on limo driver Ed (John Cusack) without realising they've selected the wrong one: the murderous personality is a nine-year-old kid named Timmy.
15/37 Iron Man 3 (2013)
The twist: He succeeds – but learns that the Mandarin is actually a British actor called Trevor Slattery who has been hired by the actual people responsible.
16/37 Kill List (2011)
The twist: The Hunchback is actually his imprisoned wife with their son strapped to her back. After he kills them, he is crowned by the cultists.
17/37 Memento (2000)
The twist: The man responsible only raped his wife and Leonard killed him years ago – he just can't remember it. His wife's actual killer is... himself. His real name? Sammy Jankis.
18/37 Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The twist: Mid-way through the film, Maggie breaks her neck after being sucker punched during a fight. What was a feel-good underdog story swiftly turns into a hard-hitting drama about euthanasia.
19/37 The Mist (2007)
The twist: As he’s gearing up to put the gun to his own head, shadowy figures roll toward him. He’s devastated to learn it’s actually the military who have combatted the mist creatures. He killed his son for no reason. Talk about awful timing.
20/37 Oldboy (2003)
The twist: The girl is actually his daughter. His captors orchestrated their meeting.
21/37 Orphan (2009)
The twist: Esther is actually a 33-year old murderer who has a condition stunting her physical growth.
22/37 The Others (2001)
The twist: In a spin on the ghost story, it turns out it's Grace and her children who are the ghosts: she killed them – before turning the gun on herself – in despair over the presumed death of her husband in World War II.
23/37 The Prestige (2006)
The twist: It emerges that Fallon, the bearded carer of Borden’s children, is actually his twin (he’s also played by Bale) while Angier’s technique is far more disturbing: each night, using Tesla’s technology, he sends his clone plummeting into a water tank.
24/37 Planet of the Apes (1968)
The twist: As Charlton Heston’s character escapes his cell, he eventually finds the Statue of Liberty protruding from sand. Turns out it’s not just any planet – it’s Earth.
25/37 Primal Fear (1996)
The twist: He faked the disorder. The film's closing moments see him drop the stutter and reveal his guilt as his attorney looks on, disturbed.
26/37 Psycho (1960)
The twist: Only, it's not his mother – it’s Norman. He killed his mother years before and has since developed a split personality.
27/37 Saw (2004)
The twist: Instead, he finds a cassette recorder that reveals his supposed captor was, in fact, another victim of the Jigsaw killer who was merely following his rules in order to obtain an antidote for a poison in his body. Cue a corpse in the middle of the room rising to reveal himself as the real Jigsaw killer. He was there the whole time.
28/37 Seven (1995)
The twist: He has one final murder left to commit – only he’s already committed it. We discover Doe has killed Mills’s wife (Gwyneth Paltrow), which prompts him to complete Doe’s plan by murdering him out of wrath.
29/37 Shutter Island (2010)
The twist: Teddy is actually a patient, and his partner is his doctor. He killed his wife after she murdered their three children and the elaborate ruse is an attempt to bring his repressed memories to the surface.
30/37 The Sixth Sense (1999)
The twist: Crowe is, in fact, dead all along. He got killed during a robbery that we see in the film’s opening scene.
31/37 Sleepaway Camp (1983)
The twist: Angela is the killer. She's also not Angela at all, but her presumed dead brother Peter, who was raised as a girl by her aunt following Angela's death.
32/37 The Skin I Live In (2011)
The twist: The Vera we're seeing is not wis wife, but a young man whom Robert abducted and subjected to a vaginoplasty six years before.
33/37 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
The twist: He shows up to his date's house, knocks on the door... and comes face to face with The Vulture. He's her father.
34/37 Unbreakable (2000)
The twist: Elijah is the biggest criminal of them all. When David shakes his hand at the end of the film, he sees that “Mr Glass” is the mastermind behind numerous terrorist attacks – including the train crash he survived.
35/37 The Usual Suspects (1995)
The twist He made the whole thing up – Kint is Keyser Soze.
36/37 The Visit (2015)
The twist: Their mother becomes disturbed when she sees her parents while Skyping her children - it’s not them. It emerges that these imposters are mental home patients who murdered the couple, and have now taken up residence in their house.
37/37 The Wicker Man (1973)
The twist: The girl was never missing – it was just an elaborate hoax to lure an out-of-towner so the island's residents could sacrifice him to their Sun God.
He continued: “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,” Jordan said.
Jordan added that therapy “helped [him] 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.”
Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, has been nominated for Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards.
The full episode will be available to listen to on 24 March.
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