Angela Bassett Reflects on Her Black Panther Costar Chadwick Boseman: His 'Spirit Remains with Us'
Angela Bassett is opening up about the loss of her Black Panther costar, Chadwick Boseman.
During Thursday night's episode of PEOPLE (the TV Show!), the 62-year-old actress told PEOPLE that the late actor's "spirit remains with us" almost two months after he died in late August after a years-long battle with colon cancer.
"[He was] truly, truly one of the most incredible individuals that I have ever had the opportunity to meet and work with," Bassett said. "He was diligent, professional, kind — he was there."
Bassett, who played Boseman's mother Ramonda in the ever-popular Marvel film, added that he had "a ready laugh" and worked "diligently" on his character of T’Challa, who she described as "his ministry."
"If we could just take a page out of his book, all of us would be even greater," she added.
Earlier this year, when news of Boseman's death was first announced, Bassett penned a touching message on her Instagram page, sharing that she and the late actor had met many years before he became a star.
"It was meant to be for Chadwick and me to be connected, for us to be family. But what many don’t know is our story began long before his historic turn as Black Panther," the Oscar-nominated actress wrote. "During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day."
A post shared by Angela Bassett (@im.angelabassett) on Aug 28, 2020 at 8:43pm PDT
"And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever," she continued. "We’d spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son."
Bassett added: "I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience. This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal."
RELATED: Letitia Wright Says a Black Panther Sequel Would Be 'Strange' to Make Without Chadwick Boseman
Elsewhere, during her time with PEOPLE, Bassett discussed a potential plot point for the previously announced Black Panther sequel that involves Shuri — T’Challa's younger sister who is played by Letitia Wright in the film — taking over his royal title.
"Yes, I would be behind that, absolutely," she said. "I know they're working on the script so I can't wait to see what they come up with."
But Bassett, who is featured at this year's Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) virtual gala, knows that Boseman could never be replaced for his groundbreaking role.
"There's no replacing Chadwick, he's just too special," she said.
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