Chadwick Boseman's onscreen mother Angela Bassett honors her 'sweet prince'
Angela Basset is honoring Chadwick Boseman after the 43-year-old actor died from colon cancer on Friday. Bassett played Boseman's onscreen mother in "Black Panther," the 2018 Marvel film that catapulted the late actor into stardom.
After first sharing a gallery of sweet images of herself with Boseman, she celebrated the star with a soaring tribute in a subsequent post.
“It was meant to be for Chadwick and me to be connected, for us to be family," the 62-year-old actor wrote on Friday. "But what many don’t know is our story began long before his historic turn as Black Panther."
Bassett, who played Ramonda, Queen Mother of Wakanda in "Black Panther," next shared a special memory between her and her fictional son that demonstrated a special lifelong bond.
"During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something," she explained. "He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day. And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever! We’d spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son."
"I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience."
She ended her post honoring the late actor, who's family said on Friday that he had been diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2016, which had progressed to Stage IV. Boseman died in his home, with his wife and family by his side, the statement said.
"This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal," Bassett shared. "So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother...'thou aren’t not dead but flown afar...'. All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince.”
Howard University said in a statement: "It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of alumnus Chadwick Boseman who passed away this evening. His incredible talent will forever be immortalized through his characters and through his own personal journey from student to superhero! Rest in Power!"
Bassett ended her post with a hashtag widely being used after news broke of King T'Challa's passing: #WakandaForever.