Marvel Studios(LOS ANGELES) — Michael B. Jordan was already in fighting shape from Creed when he took on the role of Erik Killmonger in the mega-hyped Marvel movie Black Panther. However, Jordan took things to another level to transform himself into the Black Panther’s fearsome nemesis. That took its toll — at least on his social life, he admitted during a recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
To add 20 pounds of muscle to his frame, Jordan began by drinking at least a gallon of water a day.
“Do you know how often you have to use the bathroom when you’re drinking a gallon, especially in the middle of the night?” Jordan explained. “You’re trying to sleep; you’ve got to wake up and use the bathroom. You’re like, ‘Oh my God. I’m just going to hold it.’ It just doesn’t quite work out.”
To fuel his muscles, he ate. And ate. And ate. “It’s hard to go out to a club or a party when you’re like, ‘Oh, wait! Meal prep! We gotta go pop this thing in the microwave and eat food.’ It’s tough to socialize when you gotta get in shape like that,” the actor explained.
Jordan doesn’t have any time to catch his breath, either. He’s back in training — for Creed 2, which gets underway in April.
“Don’t you just want to play a character where you lay on the sofa and do nothing at all?” DeGeneres jokingly replied.
“Yeah, just like eat pizza and hang out? Just become ‘method’ and sit there with a belly? “I’m gonna work on that,” he laughed.
Black Panther, which also stars Chadwick Boseman, Oscar nominee Angela Bassett, and Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Lupita Nyong’o, hits theaters Feb. 16 from Marvel Studios, which, like ABC News, is owned by Disney.
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