The 'Creed' star opens up to ET on getting hit and working with Sylvester Stallone.
Michael B. Jordan recently got in the ring to star in Creed, the latest installment in the long-running Rocky franchise.
In the film, Jordan stars as Adonis Johnson Creed, son of boxer Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers in the first four Rocky films), who seeks out former champ, and friend of his father, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who Adonis hopes will train him to be a world-class pugilist.
Needless to say, the film has some intense fight scenes that Jordan had to work hard to pull off. But in a boxing movie, working hard usually equates to getting punched a lot.
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Speaking with ET at the press junket for Creed, the 28-year-old star shared what it was like behind the scenes, and revealed that there were a few times he took a couple of accidental hits.
"I didn't get knocked out or anything like that, but yeah there were definitely some slips, some jabs, some body punches," Jordan recounted. "You're going to take those. There's nothing you can do about that. You just got to eat those."
According to Jordan, who was reunited with Fruitvale Station writer and director Ryan Coogler for the boxing drama, accidents happen when actors just get worn out from a long day of shooting.
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"You get mentally tired and the fatigue kicks in," Jordan explained. "You're supposed to slip left, slip right and he's throwing right and you get hit. That's kind of the thing that happened."
Although Jordan admitted that for one important punch, shot in slow motion (in traditional Rocky style), that was "a full hit. That was legit."
As for working with Stallone on a film in the franchise that essentially made his career, Jordan said the experience was incredible.
"I think Sly is an amazing actor and he gives you whatever you need in your scene," Jordan gushed. "I would like to think that we pushed each other in those scenes to the breaking point, to those limits where you found the raw emotion."
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In Creed, Rocky Balboa is much older and, according to Jordan, his character has an entirely different feel from the 69-year-old star's portrayal of Rocky in past films.
"You're used to seeing him as the hero and in the ring," Jordan said. "To see him start to slowly age and the time kind of getting to him… To see him as his weaker character, you get caught up in it, in the moment, because this guy has lost his fight."
"It’s a relationship. It's an odd couple relationship and somehow we find our way back to each other and it works," Jordan added.
Creed hits theaters Nov. 25.
