Actor Michael B. Jordan may be best known for playing boxer Adonis Creed in the 2015 film “Creed” or, more recently, Erik Killmonger in Marvel’s record-shattering “Black Panther.”
Aside from being leading roles in critically acclaimed films, the characters share another commonality: They’re both written for black actors.
Adonis Creed is the son of Apollo Creed, a character in Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” franchise that was inspired by Muhammad Ali. Killmonger, “Black Panther’s” main antagonist, has roots in Wakanda, a fictional sub-Saharan African nation.
Despite these high-profile roles, for several years Jordan has also made it a point to audition for roles written for white actors.
Joining Issa Rae of HBO’s “Insecure” for Variety’s “Actor on Actor” interview series, Jordan explained why he told his agents he wanted to stop auditioning for roles created for African Americans.