Black Panther's Winston Duke Shares A Heartwarming Story About Chadwick Boseman - Exclusive
Hollywood lost a real one in 2020 following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, who made history as T'Challa in "Black Panther." After a 2016 diagnosis of colon cancer, the actor quietly worked through his condition in between hospital stays while he helmed one of the most influential and respected MCU films to date. However, his legacy is larger than life, and no one could even think about replacing Boseman as T'Challa.
While the news of Boseman's death devastated fans across the globe, no one felt the sting more strongly than his family and his co-stars, those who knew and loved him in real life. Ask anyone who worked with Boseman what the experience was like, and they'll likely meet you with a fond smile and a slew of stories that show how much of a hero Boseman was in real life. Much like T'Challa, he continually put his co-stars first, and he never let the spotlight change him. Just ask Winston Duke.
As part of an exclusive interview for his film "Nine Days," Duke spoke to Looper about a touching moment he had with Boseman on the "Black Panther" set.
A Wakandan pep talk
When asked what memory with Chadwick Boseman from the "Black Panther" set stands out the most, Winston Duke said so many stand out to him. "I remember I was trying to lose weight to get into M'Baku, and I was asking him what does he do. 'You've done this before. Any help you can get me or give me?' And he would allow me to use his trainer, and he would allow me to use his fight stunt guy. That was his own private stunt guy." By all of the accounts of Boseman's co-stars, this isn't all surprising.
"And then I asked him that question, and he said, 'At the end of the day, these people are going to get what they're going get. Don't stress it. Just worry about putting it into your acting. If you play a guy who's muscularly present, they will believe that you are muscularly present and you are already very muscularly present. So just trust that they're going to get what they're going to get. Don't stress it,'" Duke recalled. "And that gave me a lot of permission to just let go. And in that letting go, I found so much joy."
"Nine Days" is now in theaters nationwide.