00:00Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died of cancer on Friday. He was 43. His family shared
00:06a statement on his Twitter account which read,
00:08It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick was
00:13diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2016 and battled with it these last four years as it
00:18progressed to stage 4. A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all and brought many of
00:23you the films you have come to love so much. Boseman's family confirmed that he filmed
00:27Marshall, The Five Bloods, and the upcoming film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as well as several others
00:32during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. The statement also read,
00:38It was the honor of his career to bring King T'Challa to life in Black Panther. He died in his
00:43home with his wife and family by his side. At the 2018 premiere of Black Panther, Boseman told the
00:48Hollywood Reporter this of what he hoped viewers would take away from the Marvel film.
00:52I hope, you know, people will watch this movie and see the hero in themselves.
00:58Don't freeze. I never freeze. His family statement concluded,
01:03The family thanks you for your love and prayers and asks that you continue to respect their privacy
01:07during this difficult time. Boseman had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis.
01:12I would love to play Jimi Hendrix, Ma Rainey. That would be the dream role.
01:16Pictured here on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter in March 2018,
01:18Boseman also played Jackie Robinson in the 2013 film 42. At the time, he opened up to THR about the most
01:26challenging part of portraying the baseball icon. When it's an icon, you can get ahead of it and not
01:32play them like they're a human being. And so just giving myself the permission, even though he's an
01:38icon, to make him have flaws or to make him have, you know, there's some scenes with Wendell Smith
01:45where you feel like, you know, he's not a nice guy, you know, like he's not a nice guy at all.
01:51And I didn't feel right at a certain point about playing this person that we're going to revere that
01:57way was, was the hardest thing. For more on Chadwick Boseman's life and career, go to THR.com.
02:02For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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