Creed’s Tessa Thompson Reveals That She and Michael B. Jordan Went to Couples Therapy as Bianca and Adonis

In an exclusive interview with Refinery 29, Tessa Thompson revealed that she and the star and director of Creed III, Michael B. Jordan, attended couples therapy together in preparation for the movie.

Thompson plays the love interest to Jordan in the Creed series. Bianca (Thompson) and Adonis are now married with a child in the latest sequel. To “express” the realness that a couple may be going through things, the two actors went to couples therapy in character for the movie. Yet, Thompson said she feels that therapy can be a good thing for “all people,” as it helped her character in Creed III.

“I think the moral of Creed III is that all people should go to therapy because it’s something that I think really has helped Bianca, for example.”

She admitted that the therapy they attended together was the first time for both actors. And to do so in character was “weird.”

“But it ended up being like — the line sometimes between character and us get blurred because we bring so much of what we’re exploring personally to the characters in general. 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. But I think it reminded us of our own personal lives 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.”

Thompson went into further detail as she reminded us that she and Jordan have been filming these movies over the course of nine years. The personal relationships the actors have had on their own, they’ve talked about throughout the years.

“OK, we were in therapy, yes, as Bianca and Adonis, but we were also reflecting on our own relationships. Since we’ve been making these movies for eight, nine years, we’ve seen each other through various stages in our own romantic things. 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.”

The sessions must have worked, as the chemistry of the two has helped the third movie in the series to its largest opening weekend box office total. According to Rotten Tomatoes, Creed III has already brought in $100 million internationally.