Chadwick Boseman gave part of his ‘21 Bridges’ salary to Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller has revealed that Chadwick Boseman took a pay cut to help boost her salary on the 2019 film 21 Bridges. 

The British actress opened up about Boseman’s generosity a month after he died following a four-year battle with colon cancer. In a new interview for Empire’s October issue, Miller says the Black Panther star pursued her to appear opposite him in the action thriller, but she was hesitant to sign on.

“He produced 21 Bridges, and had been really active in trying to get me to do it,” Miller tells the publication. “I’d been working non-stop and I was exhausted, but then I wanted to work with him.”

Once she joined the production, Boseman went an extra mile by donating part of his salary to increase her fee.

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“I didn’t know whether or not to tell this story, and I haven’t yet. But I am going to tell it, because I think it’s a testament to who he was,” Miller says. “This was a pretty big budget film, and I know that everybody understands about the pay disparity in Hollywood, but I asked for a number that the studio wouldn’t get to,” she explained. 

“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.’ And Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for. He said that that was what I deserved to be paid,” Miller added. 

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

Miller says the reaction she receives from some of her male colleagues after she speaks about her experience with Boseman is priceless.

“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,’” she says. 

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Although Boseman is best known for Black Panther, he starred in several important projects throughout his incredible career. In 42, he played trailblazing baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and took on the role of Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.