BLACK PANTHER Director Ryan Coogler Talks About the Biggest Lesson He Learned From His Friend Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman took the MCU by storm when he perfectly embodied the King of Wakanda, T’Challa, aka the Black Panther.

The character was introduced in Captain America: Civil War before starring in the self-titled film, and returning for the next two Avengers movies. Then, a year later, Boseman sadly lost his life to cancer, and the next film in the Black Panther franchise paid tribute to the character, as well as the actor.

Ryan Coogler is the director of the Black Panther films, and during a recent interview with THR, chatting about Coogler’s latest Oscar-nominated film, Sinners, the filmmaker talked about his friend, Chadwick Boseman.

Coogler talked about the biggest lesson he learned from Boseman in the few years they got to work together, saying:

“Engaging with him on an artistic level, conversations that will forever just be between me and him — I was about 30 years old, stressed, completely out of my mind, sleep-deprived, convinced that the movie wasn’t going to work.

“I robbed myself of truly enjoying that privilege — even of sitting there and enjoying the countless Chadwick Boseman takes, because he didn’t have a bad take. So when he passed, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, how much stuff have I not allowed myself to enjoy because I was in my own head — feeling like I was unworthy?’

“I’m going to take the lessons from Chad for the rest of my life, bro,” he continues with a smile, his voice going quiet. “That includes all of this. I have to see the good in things, see the value in things, and not let impostor syndrome or guilt or negativity rob me of moments with my cast who I love — or with folks who want to say, ‘Hey, good job.’”

That’s a pretty valuable lesson to learn in life. It’s sad that it didn’t set in until Boseman was gone, but Coogler is better for knowing him, and for passing that knowledge along.

Coogler’s film Sinners is nominated for an incredible 16 Academy Awards, and he is in pre-production on Black Panther 3.