Out of the many tributes to arise honoring Chadwick Boseman, there is one notable aspect that links them all—those who knew and/or worked with him confirmed how kind he was. Beyond the talented actor whose roles we’d grown to love was a man with a giving heart.
There is yet another person to add to that growing list, Boseman’s 21 Bridges co-star, Sienna Miller. In a recent interview with Empire Magazine (which is solely dedicated to honoring Boseman), Miller revealed that the late actor made sure she was properly compensated for her work in the cop thriller, where she portrayed a narcotics detective (Frankie) who partners with the NYPD officer (Andre) portrayed by Boseman. Boseman also served as a producer on the film.
“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. And because I was hesitant to go back to work and my daughter was starting school and it was an inconvenient time, 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.”
In addition to Miller’s request for proper compensation aligning with the fact that she was sacrificing time with her daughter as she returned to school, it’s important to note that Boseman’s gesture could also be in line with supporting the narrowing of the gender pay gap. According to a 2019 article in The Guardian, men make $1 million more per film in Hollywood than women. Boseman also previously shared that Miller’s role was originally supposed to be cast with a male actor.
Miller confirmed that Boseman didn’t make a showy performance out of his gesture, which absolutely tracks with how he dealt with other matters in his life, including his colon cancer diagnosis. Following Boseman’s death, his agent revealed that Boseman’s mother taught him not to have people “fuss” over him.
“It’s just unfathomable to imagine another man in [Hollywood] behaving that graciously or respectfully,” Miller added. “In the aftermath of this, I’ve told other male actor friends of mine that story, and they all go very, very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while.”