Jonathan Majors on modeling his ‘Creed III’ character’s aspirations after his stepfather

Jonathan Majors recently discussed during a press conference for Creed III about how the inspiration behind his portrayal of Damian Anderson in the film hits so close to home. 

In Creed III, Anderson is an old friend of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) who was recently released from prison and is trying to get his shot in the ring by going up against the popular boxer.

Majors revealed the reason why it was easy to play Anderson was because the character reminded him of his stepfather, Joe, and his hardships. The 33-year-old opened up that Joe was incarcerated for 15 years for an unidentified crime. Majors expressed that after his stepfather was released from prison, he searched for “the idea of freedom” as he transitioned back to real life. The actor said,

“In a nutshell, first and foremost, it was my stepfather. The idea of freedom that I spoke about earlier. My stepdad was locked up 15 years before he got with my mom and then raised me up.”

Further in the conversation, Majors shared that following Joe’s incarceration, he tried out for the Dallas Cowboys team and almost made it to the league. The Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania star disclosed that his stepfather’s drive “to be more free” inspired his character. Majors explained,  

My stepdad also, yeah, Joe, I’m gonna say his name, he tried out for the Dallas Cowboys. I’m from Dallas. And almost made it to the Cowboys. He was in the second round, right? I watched that aspiration. I watched that hustle. You know, I watched that dream that he had. There’s a big part about that. That big, hard shell. You know, that young boy in it that had the aspirations to be more, to be free.”

In addition to sharing details about his character in the press conference, Majors also recently talked about the overall theme for Creed III. In the same event, Majors said that throughout the film, which is Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, viewers will see the concept shift from “physical and mental freedom” to the significance of “brotherhood.” The motion picture will star Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Phylicia Rashad, Woody Harris, and others. 

Creed III is set to premiere in theaters on March 3.