Stars honor Chadwick Boseman at Oscars 2021 ceremony
The late actor was remembered by his fellow actors at this year's awards
The late Chadwick Boseman may not have been physically present at 2021 Oscars, but he was remembered by his fellow actors during the broadcast. The Black Panther star is nominated for an Oscar for his role as Levee in Ma Raineys Black Bottom, the last role he would perform before his death.
“It’s like I said before, he was authenticity on steroids,” Davis told E! News’ Giuliana Rancic on the red carpet before the show on Sunday. “You know, sometimes, people honor people who actually were not really nice or really the persona did not match the real person. This—it matches the person.”
Angela Bassett, who co-starred with Boseman as his mother, Queen Ramonda, told Lil Rel Howery on the ABC Spotlight on Oscars pre-show that she missed his “big spirit.”
“This is Hollywood’s Christmas so I’m rooting for everyone,” she responded when asked who she might be rooting for. “But l guess especially because he’s near and dear to me so much in spirit, my dear son Chadwick Boseman.”
She told Rel that she missed his “great, big spirit, his heart.” She continued: “He cared so much for people, was the ultimate professional and he had the most amazing laugh. Amazing and easy.”
Boseman could not have anticipated how challenging the Ma Rainey role would be. Director George C. Wolfe told Vanity Fair in February that he, like the rest of the cast, had no idea Boseman was battling colon cancer that would eventually lead to his death at age 43. The actor’s meticulous preparation, however, carried him through the role despite his illness.
Wolfe told Deadline earlier this year, “He’d see me approaching and I’d ask, “You have time for some notes?” And he’d gesture for me to come over and give him some notes and then 20 minutes later for the next take, he would have fully incorporated it. In addition to the brilliance of the work, he was also on the perpetual journey of discovering and finding new truths to the material.”
Boseman talked about his preparation in an interview some years ago.
“For me, it’s just about trying to find the challenges,” Boseman told The Undefeated’s Kelley Carter in a previously unaired interview from 2018 after the NBA All-Star Weekend. “Obviously 42 was a huge challenge and I think each role after that. leading up to Panther has been that. So, hopefully when things like this come – the worst thing is for an opportunity to come and you’re not ready for it. And so, it’s been for me, just trying to be ready for whatever comes.”
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