We Spoke To Michael B. Jordan About His Directorial Debut “Creed III”

So, Michael, firstly, congratulations on your debut you’ve done an amazing job, but you know that!

*laughs* I know I worked hard, but you never know how people are going to receive it but I’m glad people feel like it impacted them.

Oh, definitely. I think it’s put another level onto a sports film – sometimes they can be quite cliché, but you definitely added another element.

Thank you.

But while I was watching I saw what I would call the “Coogler Touch.” You’ve obviously been working with Ryan for years and years and years, so  I wanted to hear about how he’s influenced your directing abilities right now.

I mean, a lot of people influence my directing abilities, just being on set for such a long time. But seeing Ryan direct when we did Fruitvale Station gave me the confidence, I think. Seeing that representation to be able to see a guy that looks like me, close to my age, a young Black man, shooting a feature film was like, “Wow okay cool, I can do that”  And he told me, “Hey, Mike, you can do this too” back then. So I think that idea and confidence grew and evolved over time. And obviously, doing the first Creed with Coog, he set the fabric and the blueprint for this, and I’m just trying to keep the essence of what the movie is, but at the same time making it my own. So it was a beautiful thing.