Viola Davis has praised Chadwick Boseman as a “hero”.
Viola Davis
The 55-year-old actress starred with the late actor - who passed away this year following a secret battle with cancer - in the Netflix movie ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’, and has said she believes Chadwick will go down in history as an icon of cinema because of his “authenticity”.
She said: "I think he is going to be remembered as a hero. There's a part of the public that's gonna associate that with ‘Black Panther’; I do not. I associate that with his authenticity, especially in the midst of a profession that sometimes can suck that out of you.”
Viola also hailed Chadwick for being an “influence” to younger generations, which she believes will continue long after his passing.
She added: “He was a person who lived a life bigger than themselves. I think that his legacy, his body of work, his integrity, is going to influence on generations upon generations to come.”
Denzel Washington, who directed ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom’, also had kind words to say about Chadwick, as he said the star lived an “incredible life”.
He explained in an interview with The Guardian newspaper: "He had a powerful, effective, incredible life that was unfortunately cut short. We got cheated. His wife, especially, his family - they are the ones who have to deal with the loss and the pain and not having him every day.
"We, as audience members, consumers, whatever the word, fans, we have enough forever. He left us incredible performances that will live forever. A lot of times, I say: you never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can’t take it with you, but you can leave it. And Chad has left it here."
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed Viola and Chadwick will both be honoured with tributes at the 2021 Gotham Awards for their work in the Netflix movie, marking the first time that the actor and actress tributes have gone to two performers from the same movie.
Tagged in Denzel Washington Viola Davis Chadwick Boseman