How Chadwick Boseman’s wife helped him through his final role in ‘Ma Rainey’

‘She took such care of him,’ co-star Glynn Turman said

Chadwick Boseman's final role is in the Netflix film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which arrives on the streaming platform today (18 December).

Though no one knew that the beloved Black Panther actor was battling colon cancer during filming, his Ma Rainey castmates are now realizing the deeper meaning behind Boseman's wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, being on the film’s set.

Speaking to Decider, Boseman's castmate Glynn Turman, who played the role of Toledo, noticed "how much he adored his wife-to-be".

"Once he introduced me to her, that was fantastic. She was a sweetheart and beautiful, and his eyes sparkled," he said. "She took such care of him. I didn’t realize what that was all about at that time, but she was right there for him. I enjoyed those kinds of moments, seeing that out of the corner of my eye offset."

Meanwhile, in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, fellow castmate Denzel Washington also noted how close Ledward was to Boseman, and how special their connection was.

"Certain members of his team knew [about Boseman’s diagnosis]. His wife was there," Washington said. "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. And I’m like, ‘Man, she loves that guy.’ You know, but I didn’t know what we know now."

Read More: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom review: Chadwick Boseman’s last and finest performance

Boseman and Ledward were engaged in October 2019, shortly after Ma Rainey wrapped filming. They were married in secret, and Ledward was granted the authority to administer Boseman's estate.

Boseman, who died in August, kept his cancer diagnosis a secret for four years. In Ma Rainey, which is an adaptation of August Wilson's award-winning 1982 play, he portrays trumpet player Levee opposite Viola Davis' Ma Rainey.

"The physicality was what was amazing – how physically committed he was to doing take after take in such a strenuous scene," Turman said about one scene in particular where Boseman engages in hand-to-hand conflict. "He was giving it all he had."