Chadwick Boseman’s Brothers Break Silence After the Actor’s Death

It’s been just over a month since Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died at the age of 43 from colon cancer and now the Marvel star’s brothers Kevin and Derrick Boseman are breaking their silence about their loss. The brothers opened up spoke with The New York Times about how, to them, the actor beloved by millions wasn’t Chadwick — he was simply Chad, and that’s who they want to most remember.

“I have been trying to remember Chad and not Chadwick,” Kevin said. “And there’s just been a lot of Chadwick in the air.”

“You have to start sharing that person with the world,” Kevin, a dancer, actor, and writer himself, said of his brother’s celebrity. “I always endeavored to just treat him like my brother.”

Boseman’s brother Derrick, a pastor, remembered his younger brother as a very gifted person, including an ability to draw.

“Chad was gifted,” he said. “He’s probably the most gifted person I’ve ever met.”

Derrick also spoke about his brother’s good deeds and generosity, especially in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, deeds that were never publicized.

“That’s the way we were raised, that when you can help, you should help and you don’t broadcast it,” he said.

Since Boseman’s passing in August, many stories of the actor’s kindness and generosity have come to light including one from his 21 Bridges co-star Sienna Miller. Miller recently revealed that Boseman donated a portion of his own salary to increase her pay on the film, something practically unheard of in Hollywood, but a testament to Boseman’s character.

“I didn’t know whether or not to tell this story, and I haven’t yet. But I am going to tell it, because I think it’s a testament to who he was,” Miller said. “This was a pretty big budget film, and I know that everybody understands about the pay disparity in Hollywood, but I asked for a number that the studio wouldn’t get to…. I said, ‘I’ll do it if I’m compensated in the right way.’ And Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for. He said that that was what I deserved to be paid. It was about the most astounding thing that I’ve experienced. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen. He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth.’”

Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for dcp