*Actor Clarke Peters is speaking out about his experience working with Chadwick Boseman in Spike Lee’s acclaimed Netflix movie “Da 5 Bloods.”
The project is one of Boseman’s last movies before his death on August 28 at age 43.
Boseman had been privately battling colon cancer since 2016, something many of his friends and colleagues were unaware of, including Lee and Peters.
On “Good Morning Britain,” Peters recalled his first impressions of Boseman on the set of the war drama, which was filmed on location in Thailand.
“I have to say with a little bit of regret that I probably wasn’t the most altruistic in that environment, but hindsight teaches us a lot of things,” Peters said. “What I’m addressing is basically, my wife asked what Chadwick was like. I was really excited to work with him. I said, ‘I think he’s a little bit precious.’ And she said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because he’s surrounded by people who are fawning over him.’
“He has a Chinese practitioner, who is massaging his back when he walks off set. He has a makeup lady massaging his feet. His girlfriend is there holding his hand,” Peters said. “And I’m thinking maybe the Black Panther thing went to his head.”
Once learning of the health struggles Boseman was experiencing at the time, Peter added while holding back tears, “I regret even having those thoughts because they were really looking after him.”
Watch him tell it via the clip above.
READ MORE: Petition Calls for Chadwick Boseman Memorial to Replace Confederate Statue in South Carolina
Meanwhile, Lee honored Boseman with a heartfelt tribute during his annual Brooklyn MJ Block Party for Michael Jackson’s birthday on Aug. 29, E! News reports.
The Oscar winner said he was “floored by the crushing news and loss of a great brother,” and dedicated Jackson’s song “Gone Too Soon” to him. Lee also recalled what it was like working with Boseman on “Da 5 Bloods.”
“We filmed Da 5 Bloods in Thailand, and it was hot, jungles, mountains, and Chadwick was there with us all the way. I never, ever suspected that anything was wrong. No one knew he was going through treatment, chemotherapy,” Lee shared.
He added, “A trooper. He never complained. He was there every single minute, in the moment, and his performance is testament to what he put into that role and all his roles.”
Lee concluded, “We miss you, Chadwick, we’re going to celebrate your life.”
Boseman died at home, with his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, and family by his side.
“Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV,” his family wrote in a statement on social media Friday.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” the statement continued. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”
The family also said, “It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”
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