Lupita Nyong’o has written one of the most powerful yet sweetest and emotional tributes to the late Chadwick Boseman who played King T’Challa in Black Panther.
Lupita Nyong’o played King T’Challa’s love interest in the “Black Panther” movie called Nakia and even though she says she didn’t know Chadwick that well she knows that he will always stay with her always.
In her first tribute following the death of Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o said: “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.”
She went on to praise Chadwick Boseman for always having immortal energy, saying “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 seems ageless… Chadwick was one of those people.”
Speaking of how Chadwick was always humble on the set of making Black Panther, Lupita Nyong’o opened up even further exposing how such a unique, loving, generous, and respectful Boseman was.
“Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time,” she wrote. “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.
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.”
Lupita went on to add; “And he put in the work with all of us. 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 and ego-free environment by sheer example, and he always had a warm gaze and a strong embrace to share.
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.”
Black Panther’s King T’Challa actor, Chadwick Boseman dies age 43
Nyong’o described Boseman as showing 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.
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.”
Nyong’o wrapped the touching tribute by vowing that she will not waste any of her time on Earth just the way Boseman did when he was alive.
She encouraged her fans to do the same. “His power lives on and will reverberate for generations to come,” she stated.
Nyong’o accompanied her words with a hashtag coined by the words of Boseman’s wife Simone: #TakeYourTimeButDon’tWasteYourTime.
