Fellow Black Panther co-star Letitia Wright remembers the late Chadwick Boseman in a new feature for British Vogue.
What We Know:
- On Monday, March 15th, Letitia Wright’s message to the Oscar-nominated actor was digitally published by the fashion editorial magazine, British Vogue. “A King Among Men” the title read. The tribute comes after Boseman received a posthumous Oscar nomination on Monday for the Netflix drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
- The 27-year-old Guyanese-British actress described the love she had for Boseman as soon as they had met back in 2016 at an audition for the casting of Black Panther. She remembers Boseman was “laid-back and cool” despite her nerves about landing a role in the academy award-winning film.
- Wright, who played T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri, added, “It became more than an audition scene. I felt I had found the big brother I never had. The next time we met, on set in Atlanta, his energy was lower.” At the time, Boseman blamed filming and flights for his fatigue. After his abrupt passing, it was revealed that Boseman was privately battling severe colon cancer. He died in August of 2020 at just 43 years of age.
- In a small letter to the late actor, Wright shared what she wished she had the chance to tell Boseman before his passing.
“As we continue on this journey/As the seasons change/We will always remember you/But nothing will ever be the same/ Your talent, grace and presence will inspire generations to come/ We will forever love and honour you, as you rest with God now, like the beauty and peace of the setting sun.”
- The actress remembers receiving the devastating news in her home in London. “I woke up to an email that ended with my condolences,” she wrote. “It had to be a mistake. The one thing that would make it all go away, I thought, would be to call Chadwick. His phone kept ringing as I waited for him to pick up, but he didn’t answer. The silence on the phone consumed my apartment. I will never forget that moment. I got on my knees and wept. I prayed and cried out to God. My heart was broken.”
Wright continues to credit Boseman for her success saying, “How grateful I am to him for seeing me, a young Black woman from Guyana – a small fish in a big pond. How his ‘yes’ for me to be a part of his world changed my life forever.”
