In the film “Creed III”, after dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (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.
Jonathan Majors, who stars as Damian, observes, “As an actor approaching it, I looked at both characters’ journeys and where they were going. Michael was so honest and exciting as a filmmaker about what he wanted to do with the story, that he wanted to do something different from the canonical themes established already. But at the same time, he wanted to honor the legacy of ‘Rocky’ and the previous ‘Creed’ films. Through conversations with Michael, I knew this would be a story about two men and their dreams colliding. In some ways, ‘Creed III’ feels more intimate than others in this franchise, while the saga of it is truly epic.”
“When people see the film, they’ll see that this is actually two people who once loved each other, seemingly trying to reconnect, but one overplays the hand,” adds Majors. Looking back at their history, he notes, “Because of the society they were in, because of the actions that they took, Dame ended up having to deal with the penal system and go to prison. While in there, he held onto the brotherly love between him and Donnie. What had kept them both afloat when they were in the midst of poverty, of foster care, of the streets, was that dream they shared of boxing; that was their ticket.
“Damian, the stronger and older fighter teaching the younger boxer who was like his younger brother how to fight—and ultimately how to survive—never left him,” Majors continues. “In prison, Dame keeps his bond with Adonis by watching him work and watching him win, you know, and essentially living the dream that they both had. But that also leads to an adversarial spirit, which breeds resentment.”
“Talking about Mike as a director, I’ve never felt more taken care of as far as the world-building of the film, the understanding of the character I was playing,” shares Majors. “It’s never been so concrete in the best way. We worked in such a way where it was a real collaboration. He trusted, for whatever reason, that I was going to do the job, and when you feel that trust, you want to deliver. And as an actor, it amazed me how our chemistry worked.”
Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Presents A Chartoff-Winkler Production, “Creed III” is distributed internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures including the Philippines.
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Photo & Video Credit: “Warner Bros. Pictures”
