"He said, ‘You're getting paid what you deserve, and what you're worth.’"
Bad news circles the internet like hornets, but this time, Sienna Miller made that hornet’s nest a little bearable by sharing her experience with Chadwick Boseman on the film 21 Bridges. They both play detectives in the thriller. While the casting process was going on and they wanted to bring in Miller, she demanded a price that the studio didn’t agree to. In response to this, Boseman took a cut of his own salary to give her the amount she deserved to get paid, BBC reported.
Chadwick Boseman gave some of his "21 Bridges" salary to co-star Sienna Miller https://t.co/5YUH4VtH5k pic.twitter.com/byXDgWxtfQ
— Variety (@Variety) September 28, 2020
Boseman who passed away from colon cancer at the age of 43 in 2020 was one of the producers of the film and personally wanted Miller to be in the film. “He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold,” Miller said. “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 then I wanted to work with him. 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.’”
.@21BridgesMovie star @chadwickboseman and producers @Russo_Brothers are answering your questions live! Tune in now 👇🏽 https://t.co/24DgXKGDZC
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) November 18, 2019
Miller was extremely surprised that something like this was an option in the first place. “It was about the most astounding thing that I've experienced,” she said. “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."
“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. But there was no showiness, it was, ‘Of course I'll get you to that number, because that's what you should be paid,’” the actress recalled.
Miller said she wasn't sure whether to tell the story at first but then decided she would “because I think it's a testament to who he was.” Boseman is known for standing up for himself and communities that deserve more. In Black Panther, he was the one who rallied for T’Challa to speak in an African accent, Xhosa specifically. He laid out the implications of T’Challa coming back with a British accent and how “nightmarish” it could be, as he explained to Trevor Noah.
Here we go! Final trailer. Excited to kick off the #21Bridges tour and wanted to bring you along for the ride by answering 21 of your questions as we hit London, New York and travel the country for this film we’re so proud of. Tweet Q’s to me using the hashtag #21with21Bridges. pic.twitter.com/xz91yKXyNz
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) October 29, 2019
With the Black Panther sequel (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) coming out soon, fans are excited to see how the film honors Boseman and sets the legacy for future projects.