Chadwick Boseman Gave Some of His ’21 Bridges’ Salary to Co-Star Sienna Miller

Natalie Oganesyan
·2 min read

Sienna Miller, who co-starred in “21 Bridges” with Chadwick Boseman, revealed that the late actor contributed a portion of his salary from the film to her so she could continue working as a co-producer on the movie. Boseman also played a vital role in securing her the role of detective Frankie Burns in the film.

In an interview with Empire, Miller said, “He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold. 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.”

While signing on for the fairly big-budget film, Miller said she asked for a salary that the studio wouldn’t agree to, and she was already reluctant to get back to work since her daughter was starting school and it was “an inconvenient time.”

“I said, ‘I’ll do it if I’m compensated in the right way.’ And Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for,” she said. “He said that that was what I deserved to be paid.”

The graciousness Boseman showed, Miller noted, is hard to come by within the entertainment industry. She had previously not recounted the story publicly, but believed it was a testament to who Boseman was.

“It was about the most astounding thing that I’ve experienced,” she told Empire. “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.’”

Boseman died Aug. 28 at the age of 43 following a four-year battle with colon cancer. As remembrances of the “Black Panther” star continue to pour in, Disneyland also unveiled a mural in Boseman’s honor last week.

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