John David Washington didn’t know Chadwick Boseman well, but after a “brief encounter” with the “Black Panther” star at Vanity Fair photo shoot he came away impressed with the actor, who passed away of colon cancer last month at age 43.
“He was just as warm and welcoming as you would hope a leading man would be,” said Washington of Boseman in an interview with People. “That’s what he was, a leading man. He exemplified professionalism. He exemplified the kind of artist one would hope to be. He was very serious about his work.”
Washington also pointed to Boseman’s tendency to “kept his private life separate” from his career, something the “Tenet” star believed “added to his artistry.”
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Added Washington: “At the same time, he did a lot of work in the community and he spoke openly about our community’s relationship in Hollywood. He had a global impact, being the face of one of the biggest franchises of all time in our industry.”
In addition, Washington noted that Boseman “was responsible for a lot of positive change and a lot of medicine administered to a lot of kids that look like me with hopes and dreams of maybe becoming what he can become. It was a huge loss, but it’s a time to celebrate and forever celebrate him and what he has done. There’s only one true king and that is Chadwick Boseman.”
