Denzel Washington Reflects On Chadwick Boseman

This Friday, Dec. 18, Chadwick Boseman’s final film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which was produced by the legendary Denzel Washington, premieres on Netflix. Many are reflecting on the actor’s legacy, including Washington who recently opened up about the actor’s cancer battle and the moment he told Boseman to marry his wife Taylor Simone Ledward.

“It’s fascinating that nobody knew,” Washington told CBS Sunday Morning of Boseman’s fight with colon cancer.

“Well, credit to him; he kept it to himself. It was nobody’s business. He was there to deliver and he delivered.”

He recalled how moved he was to see his then girlfriend Taylor Simone Ledward support him, “Certain members of his team knew. His wife was there. They weren’t even married yet and I used to watch how she took care of him, and I actually said to him, I said, ‘Man, you know, you need to put a ring on that finger,’ cause she kept her eye on him and she watched him.”

Washington also added, “And I’m like, ‘Man, she loves that guy.’ You know, but I didn’t know what we know now.”

RELATED: First Look At Chadwick Boseman’s Final Role In ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’

According to PEOPLE,  Ledward and Boseman got engaged in October 2019. The exact date of their marriage is not clear but it was reportedly in August, which is the same month Boseman passed away of colon cancer at the age of 43.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is an adaptation of the 1982 August Wilson play about the legendary blues singer from Chicago. The film takes us back to 1927 as we follow Rainey and a group of musicians working through a Chicago recording session. Known as the “Mother of the Blues,” Rainey was one of the first blues artists to record her work. Boseman stars as a trumpet player named Levee.

Watch the interview with Denzel Washington below: