Watch: Viola Davis talks to Yahoo about Ma Rainey’s black bottomm
By Kevin Field
When Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, and the rest of the cast of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom filmed the August Wilson film in Pittsburgh in the summer of 2019, they had no idea what their co-star Chadwick Boseman was behind scenes.
The Black Panther star kept his four-year battle with colon cancer intensely private until his death on August 28 at the age of 43.
Now director George C. Wolfe, Davis, Domingo, and co-stars speak to what they saw of the immensely talented actor in his final film role, a powerful accomplishment widely known as the best of a career. Boseman played a heated trumpeter in the band of Davis’ eponymous “Mother of Blues” when they were recording in Chicago in 1927 for white producers and low wages.
“What I hold on to Chad is that this is how he lived his life,” Davis (Fences, Widows) told Yahoo Entertainment on a press day for the Netflix publication (see above). “I would say his professional life is absolutely the same as his private life, that’s my guess, how he lived with the utmost integrity.”
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s black ass. (Photo: Netflix)
Davis says she cannot view Boseman’s life as tragic, however. “I collapsed when I heard it was over. Lord knows we would all have wanted him to live another 50 years. We all want longevity. But I can’t see his life tragically at all. … Because I had the feeling that he always lived in the moment and squeezed out every bit of life. I guess it’s not the quantity, it’s the quality. “
Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk, Fear the Walking Dead) was amazed at Boseman’s devotion to his craft.
“He left everything on the screen,” said the actor, who was joined by bandmates Glynn Turman and Michael Potts on screen. “We never saw a moment when he wasn’t ready or exploring anything.
“He showed up and did it every time and put everything into it.”
Ma Rainey’s black bottom Premiere Friday on Netflix.
– Video produced by Jen Kucsak and edited by Jimmie Rhee
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