Oscar award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’O has joined millions across the world to mourn the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman.
Lupita who worked with Chadwick in Black Panther, playing King T’Challa’s love interest Nakia, mourned her co-star on Tuesday.
She shared a photo of her and Chadwick on Instagram saying she is still trying to come to terms with his death.
According to her, Boseman was a man with immortal energy and one of those people who seemed ageless. She wrote:
“I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope. I am struggling to think and speak about my friend, Chadwick Boseman, in the past tense. It doesn’t make sense. The news of his passing is a punch to my gut every morning.
“I am aware that we are all mortal, but you come across some people in life that possess immortal energy, that seem like they have existed before, that are exactly where they are supposed to always be – here! … that seem ageless…. Chadwick was one of those people.”
In her lengthy tribute, she went on to say that the late Chadwick who died on August 28 commanded time with ease. She added:
“Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time. I didn’t know him for long, but he had a profound effect on me in the time that I did. When we came together to make Black Panther, I remember being struck by his quiet, powerful presence,” she wrote.
“He had no airs about him, but there was a higher frequency that he seemed to operate from. You got the sense that he was fully present and also somehow fully aware of things in the distant future. As a result, I noticed that Chadwick never seemed rushed! He commanded his time with ease.”
As to the late star’s energy, she described his hands as “strong enough to carry the weight of the film.” She said he set the bar so high while staying humble always.
“He showed up to every rehearsal and training and shoot day with his game face on. He was absorbent. Agile. He set the bar high by working with a generosity of spirit, creating an ego-free environment by sheer example, and he always had a warm gaze and a strong embrace to share,” the actress wrote.
“His large hands would descend on my shoulders and give them a squeeze that relieved me of the tensions I did not realize I was holding. Chadwick’s hands were strong enough to carry the weight of the film and free enough to clasp mine when I needed it.”
Lupita added that he never heard him complain even though there were things worth complaining.
“He understood the power of words and chose to manifest power through his word. He used his mouth to build, to edify, never to break. And he used it to tell some regrettably lame dad jokes…he expressed who he really was even when it meant he didn’t smile when you thought he should. He accepted himself and perhaps that’s why he was capable of loving so many, so deeply.”
The “12 Years A Slave” actress added that Boseman “took the risk to be alive, fully alive” and added how he did his own stunts and “used his body in every way he could.”
“So it seems that it was life that gave up on Chadwick long before Chadwick gave up on life,” Nyong’o wrote.
She also reflected on how Chadwick made her want to be better, less petty and more purposeful.
“He moved quietly, deliberately and without imposing himself or his ideas on others. And yet he also made damn sure that his life meant something,” Nyong’o wrote. “He cared so deeply about humanity, about Black people, about his people. He activated our pride. By pushing through and working with such high purpose in the films he chose to commit to, Chadwick has made the infinite his home.”
Concluding her lengthy tribute, Lupita said she would continue to honour Chadwick by using her time purposefully.
“Chadwick’s death is something that I can neither take in nor take in my stride right now. Perhaps with time… I’m going to take my time… and in his honor, I promise not to waste my time. I hope you will do the same.”
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