Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington saw in Chadwick Boseman and kindred spirit with a tireless devotion to his craft.
Washington also noticed something else about the late Black Panther star: Boseman’s girlfriend, Taylor Simone Ledward, was definitely marriage material.
Washington, 65, was completely unaware that Boseman, 43, was even sick while they filmed Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom together, much less battling colon cancer. Boseman eventually would succumb to the disease on Aug. 28, 2020. What The Equalizer and Training Day star knew was that Boseman had a good woman in his corner taking care of him.
During an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Washington said, “Certain members of his team knew [about his battle with cancer]. His wife was there. They weren’t even married yet. I used to watch how she took care of him, and I actually said to him, I said, ‘Man, you need to put a ring on that finger.'”
Boseman and Ledward were first seen together in 2015 and spotted occasionally at industry events before getting married in 2020, just months before his death.
Washington doesn’t hand out compliments lightly. But, like millions of movie fans, he was awed by Boseman’s string of jaw-dropping portrayals of historical icons, including James Brown in Get On Up, Jackie Robinson in 42 and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.
As Netflix prepares to air Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Washington said he is sure that Boseman’s work will “live forever.”
Washington added: “He did all he could do with what he was given, and he left it here for us to enjoy. Chad will live forever. Period.”
