Lupita Nyong’o Reflects on Chadwick Boseman’s Influence During Filming of ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’

Lupita Nyong’o discusses the emotional challenges of her role in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ and how the loss of her friend Chadwick Boseman helped her through the process.

Lupita Nyong’o, known for her versatile acting skills and powerful performances, has once again captivated audiences with her latest role in the sci-fi horror film ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’ In this intense thriller, Nyong’o portrays Sam, a Manhattan-based poet battling terminal cancer amid an alien invasion. The character’s dual struggle with illness and survival in a post-apocalyptic world presents a deeply emotional and psychologically taxing challenge for the actress.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Nyong’o opened up about the difficulties of embodying Sam, a character grappling with her mortality even before the world around her begins to crumble. “It was scary to have to go there,” she admitted, highlighting the profound emotional depth required for the role. The narrative of impending death and the sense of life slipping away mirrored a personal tragedy Nyong’o experienced in August 2020 when her dear friend and ‘Black Panther’ co-star, Chadwick Boseman, succumbed to colon cancer at the age of 43. Boseman’s private battle with cancer and his untimely death profoundly affected Nyong’o, a loss she described as shaking her “to my core.”

Despite the daunting nature of her role, Nyong’o found a therapeutic aspect in the experience. “In the end, it was actually very therapeutic,” she shared, reflecting on how the process allowed her to confront and process her grief. She emphasized the importance of being reminded of our mortality, noting that such awareness encourages living life with greater intentionality. “When we think we have all the time in the world, we can really take people for granted and experiences for granted,” she added.

‘A Quiet Place: Day One,’ now in theaters and soon to be available on Paramount+, offers a riveting and emotionally charged journey, underscored by Nyong’o’s powerful performance and the personal reflections that informed it.