Clarke Peters (above, inset) has changed his opinion of Chadwick Boseman in the wake of the late actor’s shocking death.
During an interview with Good Morning Britain this week, the 68-year-old admitted he regrets misjudging the Black Panther star while filming Spike Lee’s war movie Da 5 Bloods, which was released on Netflix in June.
Related: What Chadwick Said To Winston Duke In His Black Panther Audition Changed His Life
Peters admitted he didn’t have the best impression of Boseman after observing that the 43-year-old had a team of people doting on him on set, thinking that the Marvel star was something of a prima donna. He explained to the station:
“I have to say with a little bit of regret that I probably wasn’t the most altruistic in that environment, but hindsight teaches us a lot of things. What I’m addressing is, basically, my wife asked what Chadwick was like. I was really excited to work with him. I said, ‘I think he’s a little bit precious.’ And she said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because he’s surrounded by people who are fawning over him.’ He has a Chinese practitioner, who is massaging his back when he walks off set. He has a makeup lady massaging his feet. His girlfriend is there holding his hand. And I’m thinking maybe the Black Panther thing went to his head.”
But after hearing about the actor’s secret health struggles earlier this month, Clarke now realizes that Boseman was simply just trying to keep himself healthy enough to film.
He said, while holding back tears:
“I regret even having those thoughts because they were really looking after him.”
Ch-ch-check out Clarke’s interview (below) to hear his tribute to the late star.
So heartbreaking.
As you surely know, the 42 star died last week after a private four-year battle with colon cancer. Very few people were privy to his diagnoses; even collaborators like directors Lee and Ryan Coogler were kept in the dark about it.
The actor’s longtime agent Michael Greene recently shed some light on why the South Carolina native kept his illness under wraps, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the choice was based in part on values instilled by his mother, Carolyn Boseman. He shared:
“[She] always taught him not to have people fuss over him. He also felt in this business that people trip out about things, and he was a very, very private person.”
Greene noted that the actor “was really in hard-core pain” on the set of the upcoming Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Boseman’s seemingly final film that is reportedly set to be released on the streamer later this year.
It’s all so tragic — but if anything, at least Chadwick’s fans, friends, and former colleagues now know what a trooper he truly was.
[Image via Phil Lewis/WENN]
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