Even Super-Villains Keep Diaries

Michael B. Jordan’s transformation into Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger was nothing short of amazing. Which begs the question: how do actors maintain such intricate characters when they’re constantly changing roles? Jordan gave the details, and his process actually makes a lot of sense. In an interview with Late Show host Steven Colbert, the actor revealed that in order to keep in character during the filming of the iconic Marvel film, he kept a “dark” journal.

“I write journals for every character that I have, from the earliest memory up until the first page of the script. For me, it just kind of gives you context,” Jordan said. “For [Killmonger], his was particularly dark. It was a very sad journal, not having his mom growing up, [being] in and out of the system [in] foster care, foster homes, and whatnot. It’s a lot of dark stuff that’s probably not right for television. It was deep, man.” The actor added that the experience allowed him to go tap into the character and “go to that place before the scene”.