Jonathan Majors reveals how he modelled his Creed III character’s aspirations after his stepfather who was in prison for 15 years

Directed by Michael B. Jordan, Creed III released in cinemas on March 3, 2023.

By Monica Yadav -

March 3, 2023 - 6:26 PM IST

Actor Jonathan Majors, most recently seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently seen as Damian Anderson in Creed III. In this film, we'll see Adonis Creed grow not only as an athlete but also as a person as he faces challenges both on and off the ring, some of which cause him great heartache. Majors plays an old friend of Adonis Creed who was recently released from prison. He is trying his shot in the boxing ring going up against the popular boxer.

Jonathan Majors reveals how he modelled his Creed III character’s aspirations after his stepfather who was in prison for 15 years

At a recent press conference held globally via zoom, Majors revealed how he modelled his character Damian Anderson after his stepfather Joe who was in prison for 15 years. He 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 for 15 years before he got with my mom and then raised me up.”

He added, “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.”

For Jonathan Majors, what drew him to the script was how freedom was one of the main aspects of the film. He said, “Yeah, I think the most ancient quality that was, you know, put in, you know, by the homies was this aspiration for freedom. And not just physical freedom, but mental freedom. And that never changed. That never shifted. That was the thing that I went, ‘Okay, that makes sense to me.’ They baked it in. Mike saw it. We went after it. You know. It's the most universal quality in the piece. Second to that was brotherhood.”

Jonathan added, “And that brotherhood became paramount because that's connected between our hero and me. So those two elements. And the changing of the name is all about implications.”

The logline reads, “After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian (Jonathan Majors) resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian–a fighter who has nothing to lose.”

Directed by Michael B. Jordan, Creed III released in cinemas on March 3, 2023.