Ryan Coogler recently reflected on the late Chadwick Boseman and noted that he was the most focused person he’s ever encountered.
Appearing with Matt Barnes on the All The Smoke podcast, Coogler shared what he learned from Boseman.
“He changed my life, bro,” said Coogler. “He was a meditator and a martial artist, and he was extremely in control of his ability to focus.”
“When you were with him, he wasn’t the type of dude to be checking his phone and be distracted,” Coogler continued. “He was the single most focused person I ever met.”
Coogler shared how Boesman’s ability to focus left a deep impression on him.
“Looking back on it, it was incredible — and it’s something I aspire to. To be able to be that present with people,” he recalled. “He would take deep breaths. If you gave him some information, I could see him locking in.”
In 2021, Coogler spoke about dealing with Boesman’s passing after being diagnosed with colon cancer and returning to film Black Panther 2
“It’s difficult. You’ve got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn’t have wanted us to stop,” he said. “He was somebody who was so about the collective. Black Panther was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired. On that set, he was all about everybody else.”
“Even though he was going through what he was going through, he was checking in on them, making sure they were good,” Coogler continued. “If we cut his coverage, he would stick around and read lines off camera [to help other actors with their performances]. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I’d feel him yelling at me, like, ‘What are you doing?’ So you keep going.”
For his latest project, Coogler directed Sinner, which is currently in theaters, starring Michael B. Jordan in a dual role playing twin brothers, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Buddy Guy, Delroy Lindo, and Li Jun Li. Since the film’s release, it has garnered critical acclaim.