Michael B. Jordan, a dynamic and talented actor, has established himself as one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. With his impressive range of performances and undeniable charisma, Jordan has captivated audiences and garnered critical acclaim for his work. Jordan has shared the screen with several iconic superstars, but one of his most impressive collaborations is with Sylvester Stallone in the Creed film series.
Jordan’s performance in Creed was nothing short of spectacular. Stepping into the role of Adonis Creed, the son of Apollo Creed, Jordan brought an intensity and vulnerability that captivated audiences. But shooting this film was not that easy for the superstar as he found himself on the receiving end of a genuine blow from a pro boxer that left him all knocked out on the floor. This scene interestingly was the idea of the Rambo star, who wished to capture a genuine blow in slow motion.
Michael B. Jordan On Being Persuaded By Sylvester Stallone To Receive A Real Punch
In an interview, Michael B. Jordan shared how Sylvester Stallone orchestrated a scene where he would take a real punch. Stallone believed that slow-motion shots required authentic punches to appear convincing, as faking it would reveal the lack of connection between the fighters. After coming to know that The Expendables star has too received several of these real punches in the past to justify the scene, Jordan got all ready to do the same as well.
“Sly enjoys putting me through punishment, he really does, he’s so mischievous. In the Rocky films it’s like a badge of honor to take a real punch. And when you do slow-mo shots you can’t fake it because if you did a slow-mo shot and it was a miss, you would see the space and that it wouldn’t connect. So you have to take a real punch… Sly gets up and says, ‘Michael, listen, you gotta take a real punch.’ I’m like, ‘Ugh, okay, did you do it?’ He says, ‘Yeah, I did it, did it a bunch of times.’ I’m like, ‘Okay if you did it, I’ll do it’. We ended up setting up the cameras and I took a real punch.”
Michael B. Jordan On Being Knocked Out On The Set Of Creed
During the filming of the final fight scene, Tony Bellew, a professional fighter and Jordan’s co-star, landed a clean punch on Jordan, causing him to go down. Although not technically knocked out, the That Awkward Moment star described the experience as feeling like a car accident. The intensity of the blow left him disoriented and seeing stars, with the studio falling into an eerie silence. Despite the discomfort, Michael B. Jordan’s commitment to realism prevailed, resulting in a truly impactful and memorable scene.
“See the crazy thing was, I wasn’t technically ‘knocked out’. But I got hit, went down and the camera panned in and it was in slow motion. The first time we did it, Tony’s glove was in the way so we didn’t see it – so we had to do it again. So we did it the second time, I got hit and I could feel the energy of the crowd and everybody in the studio. I was like, ‘It must have really looked good because everybody is quiet.’ I was definitely seeing stars, I wasn’t all there, smelling the canvas and everything. It smelled like Pine-Sol. But yeah, I took a real punch, it felt like I was in a car accident for like four days afterward.”
Sylvester Stallone even went ahead and posted the Fruitvale Station star’s knocked-out scene on his Twitter handle and shared his admiration on how Jordan stood back to continue shooting his scenes despite receiving a real blow from the pro boxer.
Michael B Jordon, “young creed and “getting KO’d for real! But he got up and did it again! That’s called guts!! pic.twitter.com/yFo3PVmvhA
— Sylvester Stallone (@TheSlyStallone) December 9, 2015
Stallone’s dedication to capturing authentic scenes in the Rocky franchise led him to orchestrate a scene where Michael B. Jordan would take a real punch. This instance demonstrates Jordan’s unwavering commitment to his craft.
Creed is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Graham Norton Show
