Viola Davis admitted she misjudged Chadwick Boseman’s on-set behavior before learning he was secretly battling terminal cancer.
Viola Davis admitted she misread Chadwick Boseman‘s need for special care on the set of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom before learning he was quietly battling colon cancer.
In a conversation with The Times, Davis reflected on her initial reaction to Boseman’s on-set routine, which included massages and calming music provided by his girlfriend and makeup artist.
“There was a part of me that was a little judgmental — why do you need all that?” she said. “Little did I know that they were doing it because he was dying.”
Boseman, who died in August 2020 at age 43, had kept his diagnosis private from nearly everyone, including his co-stars.
He was first diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2016, which later advanced to stage four. Despite undergoing surgeries and chemotherapy, he continued to work in physically demanding roles, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Davis said she felt remorse after learning the truth, praising Boseman’s strength and commitment to his craft.
She previously called him a “beautiful man and artist” and said his legacy extends far beyond his role as King T’Challa in Black Panther. She added that his authenticity and integrity will continue influencing generations of actors.
“He was a hero not just for Black Panther but for being who he was,” Davis said during a previous interview with The Guardian, shortly after Chadwick Boseman’s passing in 2020.
Boseman’s final performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom earned him a posthumous Academy Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Male Actor.
He died at his Los Angeles home on August 28, 2020, surrounded by his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward and family.
