Tessa Thompson Says She’s Been a Fan of Jonathan Majors Since 2019

Tessa Thompson confessed that she’s been keeping track of Jonathan Majors’ projects and couldn’t wait for the opportunity to work together.

Tessa Thompson is back on the big screen as Bianca in the sports drama film Creed III. The actress loved participating in Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut film and had fun working on set. While promoting the film, the actress confessed to IndieWire that she’s been wanting to work with Jonathan Majors since 2019.

Thompson has been eager to work alongside Majors since she saw him at the Sundance event in 2019. For years, the actress has kept track of the actor’s project, hoping they’ll get to work together on his next one.

“I’ve been a fan of his from afar. I was at Sundance the year that his film, ‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco,’ premiered, and it was the first time I got to see his work and just thought he was so tremendous. He’s an actor that I’ve been tracking. So I’m a fan. … I get so excited when people that I’ve been tracking come and join projects that I’m in. Because for me, it’s a team sport, so I’m like, ‘Oh man, we gotta get this person on our team. That person’s an ace.’”

Aside from working alongside the actor, she’s also interested in directing Majors. Thompson hopes to direct her own film soon, and her eagerness to direct him added to her excitement upon seeing Majors in action. She said, “I’m so fascinated, maybe also because of my interest in directing, with an actor’s process, because everyone comes at it in such wildly different ways.”

She added, “I will say that Jonathan’s approach is very colorful. There is its own theatricality to the way that he approaches the work, and especially when the cameras are not rolling. I’m a lady of the theater! I very much enjoyed getting to watch that.”

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Tessa Thompson Relished the Chance to See Jonathan Majors Battle it Out With Michael B. Jordan

Tessa Thompson further revealed that she’s enjoyed working on set as she watched Jonathan Majors and Michael B. Jordan’s fight scenes. Since the actress only had to film a few shots on some days, her scenes could be done quickly, so she mostly spent those filming days watching the boxing scenes between the two actors. She said, “There’s a very fun thing for me on these films, which is that there’s kind of an aspect of it that I get to really be the spectator.”

“Because typically, and on this one, especially, all of the boxing scenes are front-loaded, so the guys can get those scenes done, and then the work of all the narrative stuff typically happens after. During those [early] period of weeks, the work that I do is cutaway shots to me, work I can do very quickly, but I’m typically there to watch and be a part of the energy, and I love watching. I really enjoyed also coming when I wasn’t working, just to check out what it was like.”

Creed III is now in theaters.