It's been weeks since Chadwick Boseman passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer, and the tributes continue to pour in. Talking in Empire Magazine's tribute issue, his 21 Bridges co-star Sienna Miller credits the actor with being the reason she joined the project, revealing that Boseman ensured she would receive equal pay...by donating some of his own salary to compensate her properly.
"He produced 21 Bridges, and had been really active in trying to get me to do it," Miller revealed. "He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold. So he approached me to do it, he offered me this film, and it was at a time when I really didn't want to work anymore. I'd been working non-stop and I was exhausted, but I wanted to work with him."
"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," she continued. "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. 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.' It's just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully." Miller added: "[There] was no showiness, it was, 'Of course I'll get you to that number, because that's what you should be paid.'"
This is pretty much unheard of in Hollywood, and speaks to what a generous person Boseman was.
The pay disparity in big budget movies like this one is commonplace, but the Black Panther star clearly wanted to change that, even if it meant sacrificing what he made for working on 21 Bridges. Stories like this are bound to continue to surface online as Boseman's co-stars and friends continue to open up about the impact he had on their lives and how he was a true inspiration.
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