In the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s death at 43 on Friday, it has become apparent that not many people knew the actor was battling colon cancer for the past four years – not even directors Ryan Coogler and Spike Lee.
Howard University’s president, Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Wednesday that he noticed the alum looked “smaller” when he had dinner with Boseman in 2019. Frederick said he assumed the actor lost weight for a role and asked Boseman about the struggles of doing so.
“He gave a long, detailed answer, explaining that he was a vegetarian and was exercising and trying to take care of himself and do what he had to do,” Frederick said. “It was a very thoughtful response, never letting on that anything else was happening.”
Michael Greene, Boseman’s agent, told The Hollywood Reporter that the “Black Panther” actor “was really in hard-core pain” while filming one of his last roles in Netflix’s upcoming “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” but it “was so exciting to him” to work with Denzel Washington on the August Wilson adaptation.
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