Reminiscing her time working together with the late actor in 'Black Panther', in which Chadwick portrayed T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, Danai says, 'My entire job as Okoye was to respect and protect a king.'
- Aug 31, 2020
AceShowbiz - Danai Gurira is honoring the king. Taking to her Instagram account on Sunday, August 30, the actress shared a lengthy tribute to her "Black Panther" co-star who passed away at the age of 43 following a battle with colon cancer.
"How do you honor a king? Reeling from the loss of my colleague, my friend, my brother. Struggling for words. Nothing feels adequate," Danai opened her message. She went on gushing over the late actor, calling him "such a pure hearted, profoundly generous, regal, fun guy."
Reminiscing her time working together with Chadwick in the hit Marvel movie, in which Chadwick perfectly portrayed T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, Danai continued, "My entire job as Okoye was to respect and protect a king. Honor his leadership. Chadwick made that job profoundly easy. He was the epitome of kindness, elegance, diligence and grace. On many an occasion I would think how thankful I was that he was the leading man I was working closely with. A true class act."
The former "The Walking Dead" star went on to say, "He made everyone feel loved, heard and seen. He played great, iconic roles because he possessed inside of himself that connection to greatness to be able to so richly bring them to life. He had a heroic spirit, and marched to the beat of his own drum." She didn't stop singing him praises as she noted that Chadwick was "zen and sweet and funny (with the very best laugh), attentive, and truly, truly, good."
Concluding her post, Danai expressed how thankful she was to have been given an experience to work with him in "Black Panther". "I am so thankful to have taken the Black Panther journey with him. To have known him, spent time in his light and leadership and to call him forever a friend," she said.
Prior to this, Angela Bassett, who played Chadwick's onscreen mother on the flick, also paid tribute to him. Other celebrities who also honored the actor were Kevin Feige, Bob Iger, Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Wendell Pierce, Taraji P. Henson and Brooklyn Decker among others.
Representatives for Chadwick shared the sad news of his passing with a heartfelt statement on late Friday, August 28, revealing the 43 year old had lost his secret, four-year battle with colon cancer. "It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman," so the statement read. "Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV."
