At a BFI London Film Festival event on Wednesday, Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya spoke reverently about his friend, Black Panther co-star and former mentor, the late Chadwick Boseman.
To fellow actor, moderator and longtime friend Ashley Walters, Kaluuya said meeting Boseman as they were about to work on Black Panther was a “pivotal moment” in his life.
Boseman died at age 43 on Aug. 28, 2020, after a yearslong, private battle with colon cancer.
“I remember we had a dinner, and I sat opposite him. He could see my life was changing, and I didn’t know,” Kaluuya recalled, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“He leaned in — and I was about to go on a press run, and I didn’t have a publicist,” Kaluuya said with a laugh. “He leaned in and saw I needed help and guidance, and I didn’t have to ask. And I didn’t know how to ask.”
Daniel continued, “He big bro-ed me, he helped me out.”
The English actor offered, “He was an incredible leader on set, and I really felt for him because doing those Marvel things, that’s work. That’s hard. Especially doing the action sequences in those suits in hot weather, it’s hard on the body.”
He added, “Knowing that he did that while he was going through what he was going through, I don’t really have the words for it.”
“He just gave everything, he led in a very noble way. He always brought people together. … He always had time for everyone. Him and Lupita [Nyong’o], they were always back and forth, and they just knew that my life was changing.”
Kaluuya would later win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2021 for Judas and the Black Messiah.
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