Actor, Laurence Fishburne has revealed he sought therapy after physically abusing his first wife.
Fishburne, known for his strong portrayal of Ike Turner in the 1993 Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It, appeared on the Jemele Hill Is Unbothered podcast.
During the interview, Hill asked him how he prepared for his role as Ike Turner. Instead of giving a vague response, Fishburne spoke candidly about the personal experience that shaped his portrayal of Ike.
“Having had some experience with that as a young man, I did a lot of counseling,” Fishburne said
He went on to credit the Black therapist he hired at the time, who helped him confront his “anger issues” that led to him being physically abusive in his first marriage.
“I got married when I was twenty-three years old, my first wife was twenty-one,” he explained, referring to his ex-wife Hajna O. Moss.
He said he spent about five years in therapy and used his past experience when tapping into the role of Ike Turner, who was physically abusive to Tina Turner during their marriage.
He explained: “So, I was very familiar with the territory and with the emotional landscape of what, you know, brings a person to that place where they feel the need to be abusive to their partner.”
When asked if he ever identified the root of his past abuse, Fishburne touched on identifying his triggers.
He said: “It was really about how to recognize it when it was coming up, what my triggers were, and what were the behaviors that I could use that would counter it. That would help me to move in a different direction.”
