Michael B Jordan 'Inspired' Jonathan Majors On 'Creed III' & He Directs 'Like A Boxing Coach'
"He is a proper movie star," Majors said.
Jonathan Majors and Michael B. Jordan. Right: Director Michael B. Jordan on the set of "Creed III."
Creed III might be the third movie in the Rocky spinoff franchise, but it's also a big first-time challenge for star (and now director) Michael B. Jordan.
Jordan is stepping behind the camera to direct for the first time ever with this new film, while also reprising his role as Adonis Creed. The movie sees Adonis taking on an old friend-turned-boxing enemy named Damian, played by Jonathan Majors.
Majors says Jordan did a great job as a first-time director because he knows his way around both the camera and the boxing ring, and that made it much easier for everyone else on set.
"I'd tell you if he did something wrong, and he didn't!" Majors joked during a recent round-table interview with Narcity.
"He felt more like my boxing coach in some scenarios," he said. "We went after each other, and when we threw those punches, we threw them with intention."
Majors added that Jordan was a great collaborator because he's good at give-and-take -- whether it's with feedback or with punches.
"He was telling me what to hit and when to hit it, and how hard I hit it was my business," Majors explained.
"So as a director, he pushed me, he inspired me. He allowed me to push him as a scene partner, which is something that I didn't bargain for."
He added that it meant a lot to him that Jordan was willing to make space for him to lead in the movie, because he sees the actor as "one of the last movie stars."
"I'm just an actor, but he is a proper movie star," Majors said. "That doesn't happen much, to see people collaborate equally."
Creed III, starring Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors and Tessa Thompson, opens in theatres everywhere on March 3.