Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson went to couples therapy as their Creed III characters.

In the boxing drama, Jordan plays retired champ Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed, who struggles to open up to his wife Bianca, played by Thompson, about his traumatic childhood.

To prepare for the third instalment, the actors went to couples therapy as Donnie and Bianca, although the lines started to blur between the professional and the personal.

“We did couples therapy,” Thompson told Refinery29. “Yes, in character, but it ended up being like – the line sometimes between character and us gets blurred because we bring so much of what we’re exploring personally to the characters in general.”

Thompson explained that she and Jordan have become close friends playing love interests in the Creed franchise over the past eight years and have witnessed each other going through “various stages in our own romantic things”.

“So we know stuff about each other’s lives. We shared and talked about it,” she continued. “Therapy ended up starting at work and getting more personal. Also, it was a chance for us to really talk to a couples therapist and understand what are some of the things young parents who are trying to balance their own dreams and aspirations. What are the themes that you see? What are the things they might be up against? What might be their impediments to happiness or success as a couple? That was really fascinating also to hear from her and bring that into the stew.”

Creed III, which marked Jordan’s directorial debut, had the biggest opening of the franchise over the weekend, taking more than $100 million (£83 million) at the international box office.

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