Chadwick Boseman remains greatly missed following his death from colon cancer at the age of 43 in 2020. His legacy remains fully intact, though, and part of that is due to the warm ways in which so many people continue to talk about him. Boseman crossed paths with more than a few notable actors during his lifetime, and one of them is fellow Oscar nominee Colman Domingo. The Sing Sing lead recently reflected on his friendship with Boseman, and he specifically shared one warm gesture that really touched my heart.
Domingo and Boseman co-starred in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and, while speaking to THR, Domingo spoke lovingly about collaborating with him on that August Wilson adaptation. Before they worked on that film, though, the two stars only knew each other casually and had met on a few occasions. Domingo specifically remembered one instance in which he met Boseman shortly after Black Panther smashed box office records. As the Rustin star recalled, the exchange began when he approached the Marvel actor at a party:
I’m like, ‘Hi, hi, Chad. It’s Colman. Do you remember me?’ I said, ‘I’m so proud of all your success and everything you’re doing. It’s so beautiful to watch your ascension.’ He literally looked at me like this — [looks up and down and motions to get other people’s attention] — [and he] said, ‘Y’all need to know this guy right here. This guy is the truth.’ I was like, ‘Oh no, no.’ He said, ‘No, I’m telling you, know Colman Domingo’s name. I know this man. Keep your eye on him.’
Colman Domingo wasn’t the household name that he is today when he rubbed shoulders with Chadwick Boseman at that point in his career. So the fact that Boseman would go out of his way to hype up Domingo at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s Night Before party speaks volumes. I continue to be a fan of Boseman’s body of work but, the more I hear about him from others, I appreciate his apparent kindness and classiness even more. Domingo also emphasized the rare position that both he and Boseman have been in:
Of my contemporaries who really come from my experience, whether it’s growing up in the inner city or just being an African American man, there’s not a lot of men who hold that space in this rare air. Not many who you can ask, ‘When I go through this part, what should I look out for? How should I advocate for myself? Or, for others?’ Chadwick had been one of them.
Domingo makes a good point in that only a handful of African American male actors manage to break through and sustain mainstream success. Sitting in that column alongside him and Boseman are the likes of Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan, who won Best Actor at the Oscars earlier this year. Domingo also mentioned Jordan when discussing Boseman’s continued impact:
I really feel like [Boseman]’s been lifting people like me and Michael B. Jordan up from the other side. I do believe I have a little, beautiful angel in my friend Chadwick.
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Jordan has also shared warm feelings about Boseman, who he worked with on Black Panther. Amid his recent awards campaign, Jordan even revealed that he continued to honor Boseman by keeping a stuffed panther around. The Get On Up star’s death also sticks with BP director Ryan Coogler, and the filmmaker recently recalled how Boseman supported him on the set of the superhero flick and how the late actor changed his perspective on life.
Chadwick Boseman’s shadow truly looms large and, nearly six years after his passing, it remains surreal to me that he’s no longer with us. There’s comfort to be found, however, in posthumously learning about his positive actions from Colman Domingo and others.
