Published 14:27 29 Aug 2020 GMT
As tributes pour in for Chadwick Boseman in the aftermath of his tragic death at the age of 43, a clip from his 2018 ‘Black Panther’ press tour has resurfaced, revealing the actor emotionally discussing two young fans and their own battle with cancer.
In the video, Boseman acknowledges just how important and personal the film became, with his own communication with “Ian” and “Taylor” central to his own understanding. As he explained, he was humbled when the boys’ parents told him that they were both “trying to hold on till this movie comes”.
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An increasingly emotional Boseman explained how the boys had inspired him to work even harder to ensure that the film was a success. As he put it in a heartfelt monologue:
"To a certain degree, you hear them say that and you're like, 'Wow. I gotta get up and go to the gym. I gotta get up and go to work. I gotta learn these lines. I gotta work on this accent.’
See the full clip here:
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"To a certain degree, it's a humbling experience, because you're like, 'This can't mean that much to them.' You know? But seeing how the world has taken this on; seeing how the movement and how it's taken on a life of its own, I realize that they anticipated something great.
"I think back now to a kid, and just you know, waiting for Christmas to come, waiting for my birthday to come, waiting for a toy that I was going to get a chance to experience, or a video game. I did live life waiting for those moments. And so, it put me back in the mind of being a kid just to experience those two little boys anticipation of this movie.”
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Boseman concluded by taking a long pause as he struggled to compose himself, before adding, “Yeah, it means a lot”.
The video is perhaps even more poignant, given that we now know that Boseman himself had been diagnosed with colon cancer two years before it was recorded. The outpouring of support for the actor just goes to show how he more than delivered on his mission to make ‘Black Panther’ a success.
