The 'Sinners' actor got emotional while discussing his 'Black Panther' costar Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020
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NEED TO KNOW
- Michael B. Jordan told an audience at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that thinking about how he’ll never work with Chadwick Boseman again “saddens me”
- Black Panther star Boseman died at age 43 in 2020
- Jordan received the film festival’s Outstanding Performer of the Year award for Sinners on Feb. 12
Michael B. Jordan says he gets emotional when he thinks about his late Black Panther costar Chadwick Boseman.
The actor, 39, fielded questions about Boseman, who died at age 43 in 2020, during a panel at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday, Feb. 12, as he received the Outstanding Performer of the Year award for Sinners.
"Chad was amazing. I won't say he was a serious actor, but he studied, he went to a performing arts school," Jordan said, asked about working with Boseman in the 2018 Marvel blockbuster by moderator and festival director Roger Durling.
"He's about 10 years older than me, so he's got this wisdom to him. And his experience, similar to Ryan [Coogler], he feels a lot older. And his presence is a lot … he feels more worldly. Chadwick was very worldly. And at the time me and him were shooting Black Panther, he stayed in a huge state of Method the whole time. He stayed in character. And I kind of did too," he recalled.
"I love that guy so much, and it saddens me every time I think about [how] I won't get a chance to work with him again," he added. "His family and his approach to the craft and how to treat people, it's a beautiful thing, man. … Sometimes I don't even know how to talk about Chad."
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Boseman portrayed T'Challa, a.k.a. the Black Panther, across four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies between 2016 and 2019. Jordan played Black Panther villain Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, who challenges T'Challa's right to the throne of Wakanda.
In Santa Barbara, Jordan got emotional when moderator Darling asked him if he felt Boseman's "presence" while making Sinners with director Coogler, 39.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did," he said, recalling that Coogler once asked him, "What would Chad do? What would Chad do in this situation?" while they were working through a complicated moment in Sinners.
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"I kind of looked up for a second, and I just knew. I knew exactly what he meant," Jordan recalled. "I was like, 'Say no more.' And that propelled and pushed me, you know? It gave me another gear to go to. So yeah, Chad was with me. Chad is always with me."
Following Jordan's award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, he and Sinners are headed to the Actor Awards, which will be held March 1. He is nominated for his performances as twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners. Jordan is also nominated for Best Actor at the 2026 Oscars on March 15.
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