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Chadwick Boseman and Lupita Nyong'o Explain Their "Magnetic" Chemistry in Black Panther

"It's not hard to fall in love with Lupita," says the actor, who plays King T'Challa

By Zach Johnson Feb 16, 2018 2:05 PMTags
Watch: Lupita Nyong'o Talks Natural Chemistry With Chadwick Boseman

Marvel fans have a new power couple to ship.

In Marvel's Black Panther (in theaters now), the newly crowned King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) looks to his off-and-on girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) for comfort and strength. Their chemistry is palpable, as E!'s Justin Sylvester noted when he interviewed the actors. "I think it's just natural, really," Nyong'o said. "Chadwick, he's easy on the eye, wouldn't you say?"

The 34-year-old actress credited director Ryan Coogler's impeccable "casting" for creating an environment in which she didn't have to fake it for the cameras. "Chadwick is truly a magnetic person. He's magnetic!" she said. "That was something I didn't have to work very hard at—in fact, what I had to work hard at was pulling back. Because Nakia, she's not there. She's not here anymore—not yet. It's complicated. Their Facebook status is 'It's Complicated.'" Moreover, the Academy Award winner said, "Chemistry is something that you pray for as an actor, because it's so hard to fabricate it. It's so much easier to just have it and work on other things—your intention, your action and all that. To try to fabricate chemistry is another...It's a lot of energy."

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Watch: Chadwick Boseman: It's Not Hard to Love Lupita Nyong'o

Boseman laughed when Sylvester brought up how believable his onscreen romance with Nyong'o's character is. "Are you trying to say we were dating?" the 41-year-old actor asked. While they're not a couple in real life, he said, "It's not hard to fall in love with Lupita. She's a beautiful person. She's intelligent, strong, assertive. You fall in love with people when you see them in their light, when you see them doing what they do, and they illuminate a certain aura."

Nyong'o added that she also felt a connection to her "ride or die" partner in crime, co-star Danai Gurira. "I think we have great chemistry, too. The cast, I feel like we really got along. I mean, I loved working with everybody," Nyong'o told E! News. "We just enjoyed each other."

For more on the making of the movie—including how Boseman bulked up—watch the videos.

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