In August 2020, Chadwick Boseman’s untimely death left millions around the world reeling. Enduring a four-year struggle with colon cancer, the actor never opted to go public with it — but it did leave his coworkers questioning as he quietly dealt with the disease. Such is the case of Denzel Washington.
Washington, who produced Boseman’s Oscar-winning final film, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” opened up to Variety about his time on set and revealed his concerns over the actor’s health. “I wondered if something was wrong because he seemed weak or tired sometimes,” Washington told the outlet. “We had no idea, and it was nobody’s business.” Nevertheless, Washington praised Boseman for toughing his role out through reticence, stating, “Good for him, keeping it to himself.”
The actor-slash-producer praised Boseman as “A man among men.” Washington further noted, “He suffered quietly. He made the movie, and nobody knew. I didn’t know. He never said a peep about it. He just did his job.” According to Boseman’s agent, Michael Greene, the actor opted to remain private with his cancer battle as mother Carolyn Boseman “always taught him not to have people fuss over him,” per USA Today. “He also felt in this business that people trip out about things, and he was a very, very private person,” Greene added.
