Micheal B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson prepped for “Creed III” in an unusual way: “Mike and I actually went to therapy together,” Thompson revealed to Refinery29. “We did couples therapy.”
Thompson stars in the “Creed” franchise as Bianca, Adonis’ longtime love interest and a successful music producer. The two characters are married and have a child in “Creed III,” but Adonis’ unwillingness to open up about his past drives a wedge between them. The actors processed their characters’ relationship by attending couples therapy in character as Adonis and Bianca.
“Yes, in character, but it ended up being like — the line sometimes between character and us gets blurred because we bring so much of what we’re exploring personally to the characters in general,” Thompson said. “So funnily, it was the first time… I’m probably saying too much. I’ll say it was an early experience in couples therapy for us both [personally], but it was as these characters, which is very weird.”
“Since we’ve been making these movies for eight, nine years, we’ve seen each other through various stages in our own romantic things,” Thompson continued. “So we know stuff about each other’s lives. We shared and talked about it. So therapy ended up starting at work and getting more personal. Also, it was a chance for us to really talk to a couples therapist and understand what are some of the things young parents who are trying to balance their own dreams and aspirations? What are the themes that you see? What are the things they might be up against? What might be their impediments to happiness or success as a couple? That was really fascinating also to hear from her and bring that into the stew.”
Thompson’s biggest takeaway from the couples therapy session with Jordan was that “going to therapy, even when a relationship is good, can be a good thing if you’re trying to just sharpen communication and figure out how someone works. It’s useful in so many relationships.”
“Creed III” clobbered the box office with its $58 million debut weekend, a record-setting sum for the “Rocky” and “Creed” boxing franchise. The movie is playing in theaters nationwide.