- Danai Gurira shared a beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman, her friend and Black Panther co-star.
- "How do you honor a king?" Gurira wrote.
- Boseman died of colon cancer on August 28, after being diagnosed with the illness in 2016.
Danai Gurira shared a moving tribute to her Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman on social media Sunday, after the actor died from colon cancer on August 28. Gurira played Dora Milaje member Okoye, special guard to Boseman's King T'Challa. "How do you honor a king?" she began the post.
"I always marveled at how special Chadwick was. Such a pure hearted, profoundly generous, regal, fun guy," Gurira wrote. "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."
Gurira called Boseman "a true class act" who was "so perfectly equipped to take on the responsibility of leading the franchise that changed everything for Black representation."
She continued, "I can’t even wrap my mind around this loss. A loss resonating in my own heart as well as around the globe. The children he inspired, my heart aches for them, to lose their hero just as they finally found him." Gurira finished the moving tribute in Xhosa, writing, "Lala Ngoxolo Kumkani," which translates to "Sleep/rest in peace, King."
Read Gurira's full tribute to Chadwick Boseman below:
How do you honor a king? Reeling from the loss of my colleague, my friend, my brother. Struggling for words. Nothing feels adequate. I always marveled at how special Chadwick was. Such a pure hearted, profoundly generous, regal, fun guy. 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. And so perfectly equipped to take on the responsibility of leading the franchise that changed everything for Black representation.
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; hence his excellence as an artist and the incredible courage and determination as he faced life’s challenges; while still guiding us all.
He was zen and sweet and funny (with the very best laugh), attentive, and truly, truly, good. I can’t even wrap my mind around this loss. A loss resonating in my own heart as well as around the globe. The children he inspired, my heart aches for them, to lose their hero just as they finally found him. 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.
Lala Ngoxolo Kumkani.
