Conversations with Michael B. Jordan

good afternoon everyone thank you so much for coming in out of the rain my name is Janel Riley and I'm so so thrilled to be here today for this egg after a foundation conversation with Michael B Jordan this is an actor producer all-around superhero and superheroes emesis and since breaking into the business with the wire in 2002 this is an actor who has consistently delivered complex charismatic performances on film and TV probably most recently in films like Fruitvale station creed Fahrenheit 451 and of course black panther along the way he has picked up a Gotham award and been nominated for an Emmy Award an Independent Spirit Award please welcome Michael B Jordan I was just thinking that we've entered a period of time where now the other guy is the other Michael Jordan yes and there's another guy out there with a similar name finally since I was a kid getting bullied on the basketball court you're kidding oh I hope you could play basketball yeah I had it made me compete at everything I did obviously to be good at something because I would always get the Michael Jordan jokes for sure oh wow did you ever think about changing your name because especially when you register for sag there's probably 20 Michael Jordan's yeah no I did at one point um yeah I was gonna be Michael Bukhari I was gonna change the Michael book of cars my middle name oh wow that's that's for like two seconds yeah a weakness I had that I had that but and then and then I just I just kept it knowing it yeah yeah you owned it well this is an audience of sag actors so I actually always like to start by asking how did you get your sag card [Laughter] that's a great question cuz I mean you can you buy him you could buy it now he's like downtown No well you're gonna be taft-hartley yeah I'm sure it wasn't nobody sure it wasn't a time where you could buy it I'd only mean bye-bye huh you have to qualify and then you yeah yeah did you like buy yours from some guy downtown no man it might have been on um honestly I'm not sure I don't remember that's actually 16 I did so I did all my children before after I did the wire so probably the wire hardball Harbaugh was like Oh hardly yep but I was doing a lot of print work before that I did a lot of print work I don't know if you can get a sacrum cooler so so yeah all right cool cuz you did start at an early age and I'm actually really curious did you know it was gonna be a career or are you just having fun no I start when I was like 10 or 11 my mom was a shoes at a doctor's appointment and I was in a waiting room and the receptionist randomly was like you should get your son into modeling the I was an awkward looking kid so modeling wasn't the first thing on my like my career path choices but I end up crashing an audition she had two sons that was in the business I could end up crashing like a things like frito-lay or like Doritos it was something to like print work for like gods the litter like coupon books used to get like the value pack chips and stuff whenever you collect points used to get a toy I was like in the booklet when I was like super young so that was my first kind of introduction to the business and and then yeah it was like from stepping stone to steppin stone I started out doing like extra work and background work I was in like The Sopranos I was a couple of extras in that if like an episode or two and then it just just evolved I don't think I fell in love with acting or even thought it could be like a real career until like the wire I think it's like a real wire that was like the pivotal moment where I was like okay maybe I can I can't do this cuz yeah you were doing I mean I'm curious because you were so young and you started doing the Sopranos and the wire were you old enough to watch the shows you were doing yeah okay yeah I think I started out as like let me just watch just to see myself on screen yeah and like my parents are like super cool they're like really down here so I didn't have like very very strict parents so they yeah they didn't so I mean at what point did you realize you wanted to do this for a career I think it was I mean for a long time it was a as enjoyed getting out of school in every way like go over to the city and audition for things and I just enjoy being independent and like taking the train back and forth to the city and stuff like that I don't think it was I think the wire it was like two pivotal moments it was right when I got killed off on the on the wire the first time it's over a decade there's no the first time the first time I felt like I lost myself in a character I think was uh when while this was first time we started like using drugs and stuff on the show and I andre royo played bubbles kind of talked me through the process of of kind of like like getting into character I guess that's not the right phrase but just you know playing that moment that beat that I had no context right had no idea what that felt like or anything like that so he kind of talked me through it and I remember being a little depressed afterwards and you know and not feeling like myself and I was like wow that was kind of it was a strange weird kind of feeling and I was the first time I guess I was in character nothing everything else up into that point was just like imitating like you know life were just like whatever so that was one moment and then when I got killed off the show I was like you know bawling crying and I was like oh my god I never work again and everybody's late look you'll be fine and then I started working on soap operas like right after that show Jane replaced chadwick boseman on All My Children yeah I wouldn't I never liked talking about this sit sit sit sit I think it recently just came out on something like somebody were doing their research and homework and found up found that out but I they yeah Wow yeah they they he was playing Reggie Montgomery first and I think they just went younger you know I was a I was like 15 at a time 16 and yeah I got I got cast as Reggie one yes Wow yeah so did he ever take that up with you we talked about it yeah yeah we talked about it we definitely had something else and good laughs yeah I mean things worked out no everything happens for a reason it was just it's like interesting it's funny but they say soap operas are like the best training ground shifting memory so many lines in so short a time yeah we were doing like you know episode and a half a day like maybe you know 100 plus pages survivors like a factory you know like they have everything's pre lit you know you just kind of you know yeah rehearsal blocking and then you shoot and that's it you know just the fear of I think maybe I didn't know my like maybe once or twice maybe one time I didn't really like it wasn't like all the way prepared and I just remember them just moving on after like a tape like fumbling over my lines and and that definitely aired so it was like and just knowing that like I think that was like like that oh moment the fear of like not being like prepared on set I'll never be in that position again and that's kind of like kind of like drove me to be on top of my game I guess what's the craziest thing your character went through because on soap operas we've seen you know evil twins demonic possessions yeah back from the day did you get any of that it's all yeah craziest thing I mean I was like the stereotypical you know trouble Black team you know you know got the gun at at one point it was robbing like a construction site of like for like copper piping or some like that I don't know I think that's like the most extreme um needs your subplots know maybe I lost my virginity on that really you mean your character yeah and then you went on to do a lot of guest spots I remember seeing you on like house and CSI and I've heard from so many people that sometimes it's harder being to be someone who comes in for one episode than to be a series regular yeah because like that's sure like your moment you know like you have your chance to make an impression and then you're gone you know everybody else series regulars like you know they're there you're there to kind of you know support them in a way so there is a there is some pressure to kind of coming into a show just for a one-off and then you're gone because if it's you know you have a chance to redeem yourself or give the audience a chance to grow with the character it's it's it's very very much so a one-and-done but that what the process at the time I think I just had moved to LA and that writers strike it just happened and it was uh I mean that was kind of like the strategy was like you know you come out I never really had a real pilot season I was always like which is I used to like be really frustrated and upset that I never had a proper pilot season um but yeah like you would go out come out and you would like hope to get episodic so you know you you would uh you know you get that check and that check what it lasts you I don't know how long you know saying a couple months from rent and then like you know you paying off bills or paying back people that you borrowed money to stay out here and then you'd be like oh I got to move back to Jersey and then book another small episodic and that was kind of like the game kind of go for broke until you could put together like a string of projects where you can actually save money um so that was kind of like the I guess the that was the kind of the game when I first got here oh we actually have a question from fab is that the name this is fab um wants to know how you were handling rejection from auditions and well there's another question but we'll get to that um but you know I mean rejection at any age is hard but you're also a young actor starting out and I mean were you good at auditioning yes and no I think you know I had my fair share nose um at a young age and I don't think I took it that seriously at that age right it where I felt like oh man like rejection I think my parents did a good job at like keeping me busy with other things as well that wasn't like my prime focus I didn't have a girl like a legit stage mom like I was like yo come here you go to his audition etcetera etcetera it was really at my pace at what my appetite for it so I didn't really have I didn't really fall in love with like the game with like acting and stuff until yeah I was like in my like you know 15 16 years old and yet if I didn't get that new somebody who got it you know I'm saying so it was like one of those things were like the usual suspects we see you saying your friends on every audition and if it wasn't you as that person who wasn't that person to that person so it was it was very like yeah I've always kind of had the you know I'm proud of that person or like odo I'm glad you got if I didn't get at least somebody I knew got it I never really had that kind of like really always yeah yeah I never I never I never I never was the type to yeah of course there's like jobs that you want it you know there's roles as she was like man I really wanted to get that role but I think when I really had like the I don't know the thoughts behind it like the real like you know to recognize I don't know like losing out for a part I guess I understood all the all that went into getting that role okay cool it was like the politics behind it all right maybe I was too sure in the leaders know like you note also like you know or maybe I was through this or to that like it could be a million reasons why you didn't get the part and talent could not be you know so I couldn't really I never really got down on myself like that and then it kind of like raise another question of like why is like all the same actors going out for one role you know I'm saying like that I think that was like my take away at a young age for like not getting roles if like why do I feel like we're all in like super competition we won or nothing like what and then once your friends as you got older didn't speak as much you know saying as you got older or like didn't it was like a like that awkward kind of like ego not being able to like be cool with somebody because that's the competition I think there was a period of time where that was a thing and then getting out of that so I don't know yeah no it's just it's impressive because I know actors who were probably three times your age at that point who don't don't have it learned that lesson yet and they do take it really personally and they do get really competitive and I'm just wondering how at 15 or 16 you had such a ahead about you I mean it still wasn't like it was real to me but it wasn't like real like that was like my end-all be-all like I was still you know start high school to worry about I still have you know to worry about college applications if I was you know planning on going to college if I was gonna go I had basketball practice I had like you know like other things that I wasn't really to press like I'm not my said I never got let down for not getting a role or was frustrated that I didn't book something that I really wanted but yeah I never really got too crazy over it was there one that was kind of a real heartbreak that you remember that anytime that you ever thought about like maybe I'm not cut out for this yeah on the phone admit it though can we guess yeah I mean yeah I mean if you guys guess it oh yeah I'll definitely own anybody yeah it's gonna be shade either way I say it so it doesn't matter no I think it was um I just say the movie was for hurricane season and if I don't know I mean that's really bad yeah I mean forest was the coach it was about that it was about the New Orleans basketball team you know I'm saying that they just after Hurricane Katrina you know it was well you know them assembling the team and like you know making it through the season or whatever and it was like oh yeah check all the boxes the play basketball play basketball yeah I'm good black kids you know I'm saying us that's checking all the boxes right I'm good to go and yeah I didn't get it I'm not gonna say who I didn't get the role too but yeah was it not that not that I wasn't sure yeah I think that was the that was the first one that I was not the first one but that was the one that I really liked I gotta be honest a man like not this one this is the one for me yeah I was a little upset Ovaltine at that one but it's actually kind of great like the one that you think is the one sometimes isn't the one and that's the thing that that is what's what's for you is for you and can't nobody take anything away from you and that's in life and that's how I kind of look at yeah I mean and then I think it was about 2009 you got to be on two of the best shows on television you were doing Friday Night Lights and Parenthood also doesn't know okay yeah I mean the same showrunner Jason Jason Katims you know that's what this industry is really about relationships man honestly you know you know you work with somebody you know a showrunner or you know a director or producer and you're able to build that rapport built that uh that relationship you know they'll they'll keep you working like the wire you know everybody on that show has worked on another HBO show link um without a doubt because they like to you know use the same the same people so to be able to kind of like go from you know Friday Night Lights the Parenthood was like was definitely a blessing learned a lot on those sets there's a lot of talented act is great writing that's a great show I mean did you could you feel a change in your career at that time because when you're on TV every week people really feel like they know you you know sometimes they sometimes they do think they know you and then they realize you're I'm like a fan perspective actually did the industry change for you I yeah I think in both um gradually getting like noticed and to go from like oh you look familiar so did we go to school together oh you look like Nick Cannon is a unique area like I've got I've got Nick Cannon so much oh my gosh growing up so like you know so like there's always that like progression yeah like of like or being humble we're like you know somebody's like what are you from I'm like I'm not sitting here giving like talking about my resume right yeah it's not it like either you say one thing no that's not it can't be that all right oh no you say something that's not that's not anything I'm late all right man I'm done I'm otha girlfriend's like checking out my groceries real quick so you know there was that that phase also but I think I think career-wise you know within the industry the biggest change was all the right people were watching those shows so regardless of like you know being faint quote-unquote famous which is something I'm not never really was into but you know all the producers or the casting directors you know the wives of casting directors the wives of like you know these executives of studios etc excited like they would watch the show and then the husbands watch your show then like you know they became fans of me by you know why I said that synergy or whatever the case may be so it was um yeah like every show that I did counted for something in hindsight and and it kind of leveraged me and positioned me for the next blessing that was coming or the next situation or next job that I didn't know was gonna be as impactful as it was going to be but it you know I played memorable characters obviously not knowing in the moment but being able to do something that that withstood the test of time in one of your early movies that you were elite in was Chronicle I also want to say that Chronicle it's just chronic alright I feel like my mom she keeps calling it the Green Book but this was a such an inventive movie and I know it was only made for like 12 million million went on to gross over a hundred million maybe I don't know who's Josh Trank's feature debut but you and Dane DeHaan did you have any idea that was gonna have the impact it had no not at all I think the biggest impact in that movie for me was on it was the first movie the first role that I got after like telling like my agents and everybody that I only wanted to go out for roles though those written for like Caucasian males that was written for Steve Steve Kaczynski was the character's name before before I got it and uh and like you know a lot of people here that they'll like quoted you know its clickbait they'll make that up oh he wants to go out for like way rules whatever not really anything like the process behind it but for me it was just getting tired of playing stereotypical roles you know me I'm black like me playing a role I'm gonna make it that you know I did but sometimes with writers with bias you know they write what they know right you know the interactions that they have with a certain person or you know whatever it is so you know if you're only interactions with the you know personal colors somebody who you know gives you coffee or you know cleans your plate or etc etc there's gonna be a certain or what the media tells you what you're hearing songs or whatever other portrayals mm-hm stereotypical portrayals on on film and television then that's what you're writing for and that and that and that's something that you know I just wanted to get by I wanted to get out of that I want the reverse engineer that so you know you playing a character that you know somebody else written for leo or like you know Ben Affleck or you know Matt Damon or something like that I played that role then it's it's a it's a flushed out real character with no bias that's normal and I could ruin that rocket that's what it is so I told them that and they were on board you know they were they they got it you know they understood you know the strategy behind it and and yeah Rhonda crest you know a casting director and Josh you know they they they believed in me and they and that's the first one so Chronicle that meant a lot to me because that was the first like okay it's working yeah and then yeah yeah yeah first time going to Africa so that was that was a big deal for me for a lot of reasons so yeah a chronical meant a lot knows what those a pimple time it's such a great movie - it like shows what you can do with an idea even if you don't have the biggest budget they did a lot and yeah and understanding that and realizing I like business I like you know producing and directing and all that good stuff so understanding that you could do a movie that scale for that amount of money and make X amount of dollars my okay it's not all about the big-budget films you know budget you know matters in perspective but not really you know you could you could do you know a lot with a little so that movie the whole process taught me a lot to that end we have to talk about Fruitvale station which remains one of my favorite movies of all time I heard that was made for under a million dollars is that true yeah no that's Liberty I don't understand one film in some duct tape that was that was a true indie you shot it in 20 days right yes I'm like that it was definitely late 1920 days yeah yeah it was it was um I was I was running and gunning it was so much fun honestly I can make him movies with your friends like me Ryan and you know Rachel Morrison's incredible DP and we were just just getting done you know like a lot of rehearsal you know it really really um appreciate the rehearsal process and the time we had to really like flesh out characters Melonie Diaz was great um got a chance to spend a lot of time on Oscars family and now the time we're like I was um I was really not angry but I was like very frustrated very very frustrated the Trayvon Martin and just that guy kill just got killed right before it I didn't I think the day Fruitvale station hit theaters they released George Zimmerman yeah we've got a Q&A we're at a Q&A actually over on will not here or somewhere else on Wilshire and the verdict came in like literally why we were like walking when I was walking on the stage and there was just like I got a chance to break the news to the audience and it was like you know it was really heavy heavy moment oh happy time so yeah like you know just like understanding like you know act actors and the voice that you have or at that time or feeling comfortable about speaking out on certain things and how to say it you know being unsure where I was at and how I wanted to express myself was it the best way for me is to do it through my work and like I prayed for a project I was able to kind of check off all those boxes for me to be able to kind of like vent you know on screen mm-hmm and then like so crazy cuz like it was when I was shooting Chronicle I was finishing up Chronicle so I was on my way back from Cape Town when I read Fruitvale and and I had met I were tryin and and yeah it was the project that I needed and it was the project that I needed for a I wanted to know if I could carry your film I've only done in samos is those at that up to that point and I just was curious it's like you know you have great actors that can't open up a film you know it can't be a lead of a film you won't be able to have that quote-unquote international draw you know I know its own that was something that I wanted something that I was curious that see if I could do so and then also I wanted to express myself as a black man on screen you know I wanted to you know I wanted to get that that message across for all the Oscar Grant's and Trayvon Martin's and to me arises of the world you know that was like a chance for me to like for us to put shine a light on that character you know to shout a light on those those those people that don't have a voice anymore and that's something that me and I set out to do did you know Ryan before this or did he just send you the scripts and that's how you you got to know each other yeah I got to know him the first time I met him uh first time I read his script was the first time I was introduced to Ryan it was a senior seniors statement he was a film a senior project at a USC and and he was at he was at the Sundance lab at that time you know workshopping approval I didn't know he wrote it for me but he had wrote it for me before I even met him which was crazy what did he see you in that that made him think you were Oscar yeah no idea he just was a fan of the wire Friday Night Lights and he basically told me like Mike I think you know I think you're a movie star let's go show the world type and it was just like a real subtle conversation out of Starbucks and it was like you know I never had somebody so somebody I didn't really know like that but it organically and genuinely believed something in me you know but just believed in me and that in that type of way and it was uh you know we same age you know from some of the places families are very similar and we care about the same things watch the same films watch the same cartoons ate the same cereal no yeah lot of we had a lot of similarities and you know and I just I could instantly feel a camaraderie like if we had grew up together the same place would have been best friends in school you know like we would have been on a football team on the best book that's what seemed together so when it was yeah it was a weird feeling because they even right before we started shooting Fruitvale he talked to me about Creed it was like man I want to do this movie about Apollo Creed son you wanna play him I was like yeah cool let's do it let's go and he was over there pitching that movie before we even shot one frame Fruitvale and it was uh so why by the time that happened I was making a shift over to W me I was leaving I think I was at UTA at the time yeah I was at UTA at the time going over W me everything started having fun in place right around that time and I you know I knew instantly that you know me Ryan you know we were like Ellis make as many movies as we can together so it was like cool that's so funny because I was jokingly gonna ask if like the moment you met he said you know we're the new DeNiro Scorsese you're gonna be in all my movies that's gonna ask that as a joke but it sounds like you kind of did say that yeah I mean it's one of those things like you know you don't realize how important your relationship is with your director you know if you could find that bond you know like I was his muse in a way you know I was you know I was his vehicle you know just as much as an actor a director needs his actor actor needs his director you know and we just yeah it just worked out honestly like it just worked out and as Oscar the only time that you've played a real-life person I was trying to think before us I mean I like to believe kill monger is real but because I mean I just in one way it's such an opportunity but it's also such a responsibility I'll say probably the last film I did I did I just got finished shooting I'm just mercy about Bryan Stevenson so that was that was I think that was the only other time I played a real person so Fruitvale station was your first time yes up until now and no okay with red tails oh yeah it's playing at Tuskegee Airmen yeah yeah you actually spent time with Oscars family and I did with his mom yeah you know his daughter was uh the mother of his child all of his friends you know the best friends growing up that was the only react guy I got a chance to really get to know him um was through the people that knew him the best so yeah that was I wasn't really it was a heavy heavy time but yeah that literally the reason why they said they were cool with me playing Oscar was because I played Wallace really yeah that was that was the that was my way yeah and it's so funny sometimes you think you're doing things and no one's noticing things out five ten years later you never know yeah you never know who's watching exactly did Fruitvale station like significantly significantly change your career especially in films I know you did two studio movies right after that you did that awkward moments mhm and Fantastic Four actually your first go-around as a superhero yeah two movies that I that were very on purpose very strategic and I would do him in a heartbeat all over again I think Fruitvale station answered a lot of questions for me personally yeah I wanted to know if I could carry a film on I had to know I had to know and that worked out and then right after that I knew I wanted to do something that was broad I wanted to I want to piggyback off of Zacks audience to be perfectly honest yeah romantic comedy he was a character that wasn't really like me yeah I was like cool with something different miles teller and me him got close as I get from the writer writer director Tom Gorman ken was uh you know was a buddy of mine somebody that I knew from from from just being in LA financier was somebody that I knew from in LA his people a lot of people that I knew it was it was definitely a calculated move and no matter what the film did I think I still won from it yeah because I got I got what I ultimately wanted out of it and then right after that you know doing doing fantastic for building off the relationship that I had from Chronicle me and Josh stayed in touch you know we were we were really excited we still it was still really close and I want like in following the notion of you know playing roles that wasn't written for me you know Johnny Storm was on the list yeah no hesitation yeah let's go ahead and do this but then you know i learning process during that that whole movie you know it's not all about you you can show up ready to play you know know all your lines character contribute as much as you can and the movie still not worked for a million different reasons so that was a learning process through and through yeah and that you know obviously didn't do well at all but um but I think that statement for what that you know playing playing that role for me was was a big deal I know for you know just seeing a lot of kids a lot of young faces you know I'm saying a lot of black and brown faces I know it dressed up as Johnny Storm like that that Halloween and I was like yeah that's that's cool I'm with that yeah yeah that made it worth it did you ever compare notes with Chris Evans who was our previous Johnny Storm no I'd met him I like a party late right we really got it announced or whatever and he was just like man you'd be fine don't listen to the noise you'll be great I mean that was that was really it I mean he was all playing Captain America that's a help so he didn't care he was good actually when you got cast in Black Panther I remember a really funny headline that said Marvel keeps hiring human torch's no I mean there was tons of memes the Internet is like undefeated ice but yeah there was a lot of a lot of uh you know yeah a lot of memes of it do you pay attention to that can you laugh about it or I could laugh about it I love about it then yeah I can appreciate I got me got a pretty good sense of humor so I can appreciate something that's funny but the internet you know comments this that you know the clickbait the rumors the you know the tweets that somehow become factual you know the irresponsible journalism you know that's out there is is real so you just kind of as much as you got it you gotta tell yourself not to look at yeah got certain things but you know of course you're human you'll peek in every now and then and read something you probably should know and get pissed off I have to go one class Ryan doesn't listen to anyone because when I heard the idea for creed I thought what a terrible idea for a movie why would anyone do this especially coming off Fruitvale station and then it ended up being the best movie of the year such a fantastic fantastic film sounds like you were on board from the beginning was there ever hesitation though about stepping into that yeah and maybe like the most basic question but like what did rocky mean to you growing up that's the thing I'm 31 you know so like rocky for me growing up it wasn't huge yeah you know it wasn't it wasn't that wasn't my cinematix you know experience growing up mm-hmm I was a lot I was in cartoons and animated movies I was watching that a lot growing up so I think you know the first time I saw Rocky was like Rocky for I was a freshman in high school a thing and I'm like man there's a lot of action you know there's like they the fights were crazy you know you know like man they're shaped and they're shy greased up a lot but then I was the characters are there it made me wonder like the relationships and I'm saying it kind of like you know you know what came before this and then I started from the beginning watch Rocky one and I was like a love story pretty much now I really liked it really dug that how they evolved and I really started to get into franchises like man okay cool like this is what a franchise is and just pick apart rocky one rocky - rock III rock you for you know how do they evolve etc etc like I immediately started to like break stuff down and I really enjoy like the entire franchise of it and then I put it down and I probably didn't watch it again until I got I got casted um until we started making Crete and then I went back and watched them all over again and when you were making her you talked about franchises did you ever think cuz I know Sylvester Stallone yes I did yes you did is he she kept saying like no this is gonna be my last one but oh no I mean I went into it so he said like that I was like oh man how many Rock okay okay cool like we least get a solid three we can get a solid three at least three so yeah I immediately started thinking like this could potentially be you know a pretty cool franchise and you know what Rocky means there's so many different people you know it's like it's motivation you know very inspirational you know just that character is so inspiring if if if we could somehow create you know a character that was honest and flawed and later enough and Adonis that maybe he could be you know this generations like Rocky yes sense like I can be that for a lot of these uh these people now so that was kind of a thought I had in the second movies now in theaters also excellent also doing really well so you'd be up for a third yeah sure alright yeah you know it's I think we built a cool world you know no spoilers if anybody hasn't seen it yeah but just that you know Dinah's has his own family now and I think um I think we we put them in a position Bianca you know she's so layered so very talented and stuff like that that people want to see where they were where they would go so yeah we'll see so when Ryan signed on to do black panther was did you already tell you like you're in this I mean I just assumed that he always has a part in mind for you yeah it was kind of kind of happening like that it was just like you know I want you to I want you to play too uh was played a villain man I've never uh never seen no we people haven't seen you in this and this row before I think it would be good for you like let's go ahead and do it and I was like cool yeah let's go and then we said you know we started talking about like what character was he knew I wasn't becoming but guys I'm good oh man cuz I was you know we were going through the different you know bad guys that were in the you know Black Panther kind of like universe whatever and I was like man it can't be this one it can't be that one and I was like what about you know kill monger and we were kind of going back and forth on him I was like all right cool like this is this is like the guy this is the guy that never gonna end up going with you melee started breaking down like you know hairstyles on my man I ain't like I'm not wearing a lot like wig man I can't have okay I can't have no wig like you know going down like you know saying like literally like my calf muscles like that bad don't worry we were trying to figure out you know what kind of hairstyle could actually be what would be in style like what can we like you know like what can we put on screen that people will want to wear so then we were like you know he's from Oakland you know Ryan's from the Bing locks are like that's what it was me growing up in Jersey New Jersey like no I had locks when I was in high school at one point you know like locks it was like that was the paint so they really are within you know if we just tapered out all the sides and like just gave him like a light you know sound like a like a like a fade if I still kept the locks up top and I like okay okay okay so then we started like you know you know we have some some you know some some illustrators and some some graphic designers and stuff started drawing it like you started mocking up some some looks and then me and my barber and Joe you know we're all really tight we just started like messing around my haircuts man and then you started playing around when I started growing out my hair for about a year and a half Wow and then you know you know added on you know whatever we had to do to lock it up yeah Wow it was I mean what was more difficult figuring that out or having to wear mm aesthetics on your body probably the prosthetics for sure man yeah statics was tough only because like it took three hours to put them on but it took like two and a half hours to take him off so you had to kind of like decide like how you wanted your night to go you know see ya you because they built a sauna for me so they built a sauna so like I would literally just go in there like sweat him sweat him off the label it wasn't it wasn't nice it was it wasn't it wasn't fun getting started I was like alright we're gonna like long story man but like shaving cream is supposed to be like the thing that breaks them down so like you just imagine like you know five people in like a sauna we're like shaving cream and some like and like some like dissolve in that looked like kool-aid Wow and like pouring it like just trying to like scrub this off and then by day three your skin's irritated he's going through that thing again it was tough but yeah you always like just go home and like sleeping him and I come back but then like going to sleep with them things on it was tough so I took them off everyday and yes that was that was that was the horrible oh my god but you know whatever you know it sounds like you know nothing happens by accident and that one things I love about Black Panther is it is you know on the surface that's very entertaining blockbuster but I also know it's a very personal movie for everyone involved and it sounds like you really got to have a lot of inputs in to kill monger and I'm wondering like I'm sure you would have done anything Ryan suggested it was a great movie but what was sort of the personal thing that drew you to it did the personal frustration being a black man in America I think being able to kind of unapologetically um speak to that you know being part of the African American diaspora and just being able to like speak to what that disconnect from like Africa is being able to be angry you know I'm saying to be frustrated too there's a lot of things that didn't make the movie but you know onset shooting these scenes and being able to go you know Ryan being able to let me go was very liberating and and is what I needed it was like it was definitely what I needed so that's something that something I was drawn to because I know a lot of people thought that way also so kind of give them a voice I think was ah was very therapeutic for me and then the conversations that we had as a cast yeah you know my character is you know yeah obviously not from Africa I didn't grow up with that but you know the other cast members like Lapita deny having direct roots you know from Africa having their perspective on their characters having conversations about what each character needs and wants out of each scene and not knowing I needed to have those conversations like we were in there talking about just that disconnect you know the the you know the African Americans feeling like you know people from Africa don't with us and you don't with them because they're not advocating and we're not this and we're not that and just that kind of you know just out just that the that separation that gap that we weren't as close as well as what we really were what we really are you know we're a lot closer we're a lot more alike than what we think what we were taught or what we were told we were so when you get those people in the room very smart people having conversations about it it's like wow okay I didn't know I needed that I didn't I didn't know I was as angry that I didn't know where I where I come from mm-hmm you know and I feel like I fight with this movie it started a conversation that needed to be had you know even now I mean I got people from Ghana reaching out you know back and forth like you guys need to come over you know like um like come visit just like you know well you know we'll put you up you guys need to see this coming Nigeria come to you know synagogue come to you know all these places like it's it's a welcoming like lately like like we are you know we are brothers and sisters like let's start having that conversation and I don't know if it would have happened that fast without this movie so it's yeah I mean it's a this whole process mm-hmm was something that you know I wanted obviously to happen but I just didn't know I needed as bad as badly as I did mm-hmm and I was just kind of because I'm not familiar with the comics mhm I don't know if they always had such strong female characters I mean sometimes you get one in a movie you know but there's like one two three four there's Angela Bassett they're like everyone in it and like I love how the women were so badass and so in charge yeah for a lot of it um I mean I think well yes they are in the comics but also one of the good things about this one was Tennessee Coates was writing the Black Panther at comic books at the same time Ryan was making a movie and they collectively made sure that you know they were you know lockstep with each other so and then I think it's also just real life I think you know in black households you know you know women they run as they pay this they you know you know you know you know grandmothers yeah you know you know moms and sisters and aunts you know that's where all the wisdoms come from that's where tradition gets passed down that's where you know you know in the kitchen where you know food is being made you know where you know taking care of the kid all that you know so to be able to take you know our our culture our heritage our tradition and put that on a screen I think was uh was it was just you know that's just what our life was like so just being able to show that to everybody else in the rest of the world it was really fulfilling and I mean talk about culturally impact what was it like this last Halloween to see so many little Black Panthers oh I saw a few kill mongers - I saw a lot of kill more you know permanent marker beers and stuff like that oh it was pretty it was pretty cool in a dorm Elijah and stuff like that it was it was incredible man honestly um yeah I think Ryan told the story of you like not that long ago and I was like man wow that's like super powerful him in Israel you know it was wise NZ they were like going shopping and you know they were at Target or something like that and it's right around Halloween time and there was this you know there's a Hispanic family you know I was like you know going through you know costumes and stuff trying to figure out you know what they wanted to be and like little boy jumped up and grabbed like Panther and you know I was like I wanted to be I want to be Black Panther just like that kid doesn't you could be whatever he wants to be but just it's not it it that's what it's about you know I'm saying like these kids growing up with with no bias with no you know no real hatred no no no no no animosity no none of that and they heart they they're just they're just so innocent yeah and to be able to have that kind of that moment and of course you know he threw it in the bag you know they throw it in to throw it in the cart and they went off and bought it but that that symbolism you know of like other walks of life being able to you know connect with you know this story it's so very specific but it's so broad and so accessible everybody I think it's you know Orion did an incredible job did you get any like kill mongers at your door like no I don't know where I was that Halloween I wasn't here before you know I definitely want to talk about your production company is that only or outlier out like Malcolm Gladwell oh one of my mentors and stuff so outliers on 10000 hours you know not being able to put yourself in a box you know going against the grain did you always hope to produce or work behind the camera or is that something that came up more recently uh yeah always I think I've always I like putting things together I like I like building things I like being able to identify people's strengths and I like seeing other people win honestly so for me just going back to that that original thought of like you know there could only be one where he's like why is it why are we all going on for this one role like what how else do you fix that problem is he create more roles you know he create more more opportunities and that's where like the production company kind of really like that's where it started from it's like really being able to control control your own destiny control your own career as much as you can you know something I learned from Peter Berg he told me I was gonna get tired of waiting for incoming phone calls and to start you know writing and owning things so I started like even around that time Friday Night Lights finding comic books going to you know meltdown or Golden Apple over on Melrose and like dumpster diving off like graphic novels and comic books trying to find things that I could like maybe like you know try to buy it were to get the rights to or like newspaper articles and stuff like that I started to really like just hunter-gatherer really literally just trying to grab as much stuff as I could in hopes that one day I'll be in a position that somebody would ask me well what's next what do you want to do so I started like building this unofficial slate you know producing unofficially from a really young age so that when I finally started to identify what a production company was whatever the pieces involved what do I need what does the production company really do that I would at least have things that I care about things that I passionately was involved in that I kind of been loosely developing just off my pure imagination and well you know not really knowing exactly what I was doing that it would come it would become something and then yeah leveraging you know acting in certain things to get certain things made the trade off you know in the beginning and then now having like my opinion behind the camera you know go a lot further like getting things greenlit and you know producing projects you know Netflix and you know own and over and stuff like that you know it's been it's been uh it's been a crazy I think 11 months I think a lot has been official oh really so it's loving husband a year and in about you know I had the opportunity to produce a lot of things hire my head of development a lot of male who's liking she's incredible super super smart so yeah man I just been trying to build this ecosystem piece by piece and I know in March your company announced that it would be adopting an inclusion writer and this was like shortly after I think a lot of us had never heard that term before and why was that important to you because it's what I was always going to do but in on paper form yeah you know it's so crazy like I think inclusion is like second nature to people of color like you don't think about it it's like yeah of course I want to like other people of color with you know and you know women and you know all walks of life like we don't I don't think that's not a first thought you know it's a thought of wanting to have it to be included mm-hmm but very rarely we're seeing the positions of power where we can force the issue right so when I saw an opportunity to have that oh man there's there's there's a tight as a name of inclusion right okay cool that's what this is all right cool I can you know that could be mandatory for all my projects okay cool let's do that and then I guess like working being able to work with Warner Brothers and help them not write their language for the inclusion policy that was the biggest win I think thus far because you know if Warner Brothers like gets behind it you know it's obsessed that precedence you know hope across the board you know other production companies other studios would follow suit so you know we'll see what happens you know it's a it's a it's a small step but it's a first step that's um we have a lot a lot more steps to kind of go but you know it's a start what do you know do you have specific language like it's the idea to have like you know I don't know if you specify like there's a certain or number of like I don't know it's something that we're only working through right now but it's you know and you know layman's terms brush strokes that you know person of color woman on my way from your background social class what any of that is um would be eligible to be considered to be interviewed for a department head all departments so that's that's and loosely what it is and it's a lot of other business drama that I live my attorneys much more legalese whatever but yeah but that but we're just working on the official language of what that would be because it's not just whatever the studio is all Warner media so it'll be throughout every all of Warner Brothers uh companies uh and a quick question before we go from Lamont's wants to know what character have you learned the most fun or which character made you learn the most about yourself character learning ones by myself probably oh man oh that's tough oh oh only because I really I'm really close to a lot of my characters um I think one of the things with me is you want to bring pieces of yourself to the to each role no matter how different they may be you want to find the similarities in them so they're all really personal I think between in between probably Adonis and kilbarger probably be the most only because like Martin most recently I think what Adonis's went through the last two films and what I'm personally going through in my life I think with just the last couple years the transition just a jump of the success and handling that successful in all areas personally professionally dealing with the attention the lack of privacy distress the pressure family you know taking care of people all that all that bottled in one yeah to kind of like take that and be able to have a character that was going through similar things something that kind of like made me reflect a lot of my own life so mm-hmm I'll just say it does well I want to remind everyone actually Creed 2 is in theaters Black Panther is on Netflix watch it over and over and over again I want to congratulate you on such a fab tastic year great career thank you guys for being here thank you [Applause]

Channel: SAG-AFTRA Foundation

Views: 99,914

Rating: 4.9342189 out of 5

Keywords: SAG Foundation, SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Acting, Actors, Michael B. Jordan, Conversations, Black Panther, Killmonger, Fahrenheit 451, Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Redtails, The Wire, Creed, Just Mercy, A Bittersweet Life, Wrong Answer, Fruitvale Station, Q&A, Career, Interview

Id: ayS9pzCs5Yw

Length: 55min 36sec (3336 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 08 2018