Chadwick Boseman Spoke Emotionally About Helping Kids With Cancer While Fighting His Own Battle
A video has been shared online showing the moment Chadwick Boseman spoke emotionally about two young fans who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The actor was speaking during a press conference in 2018, and revealed that he had been in contact with the two children ahead of the release of Black Panther.
He said that the kids were incredibly excited to see the film and that their parents had told the 43-year-old how they were ‘holding on’ until it was released.
In the clip, Boseman can be heard saying: “Their parents said, ‘They’re trying to hold on ’til this movie comes.’
“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.’
“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 realise that they anticipated something great.”
Unknown to most people at the time, the actor was also dealing with a diagnosis of colon cancer.
And he said the young boys’ stories had made him realise how important the film was for some children.
He said: “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.”
Boseman then broke down as he told the press that the boys had, tragically, passed away before getting the chance to see their dream become a reality.
Being consoled by his fellow cast members, he said: “And when I found out that they… Yeah, it means a lot.”
In the early hours of Saturday morning (29 August), Boseman’s family delivered the devastating news that the actor had died.
In a statement posted to his Twitter, they revealed the actor had been diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016. He’d been battling with the illness for the last four years as it progressed to stage IV.
Featured Image Credit: PA
