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Big names from the world of entertainment, sports and politics pay tribute to American actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43.
The Black Panther star was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016, but had never spoken about it publicly.
His family said that he had filmed many of his recent films. while undergoing “countless surgeries.”
Among those who celebrated his life was former US President Barack Obama, who said the actor was “blessed.”
“Chadwick came to the White House to work with children when he was playing Jackie Robinson,” Obama tweeted, referring to film 42 from 2013.
“You could tell right away that he was blessed. To be young, talented and black; to use that power to give heroes to look up to; to do everything while suffering, what use are his years.”
Racing driver Lewis Hamilton dedicated his pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix to the actor.
“You have inspired an entire generation of young black men and women and provided them with a true superhero to look up to. Rest in power, my friend,” he wrote on Twitter.
Boseman was born in South Carolina and began his acting career in television roles.
He rose to fame playing real-life figures such as baseball great Jackie Robinson and soul singer James Brown in 2014’s Get on Up. But it is his performance as the superhero Black Panther that he is most remembered for.
In the 2018 blockbuster of the same name, Boseman plays the ruler of Wakanda, a fictional African nation with the most advanced technology on Earth.
It was a box office success and earned Boseman critical acclaim, becoming the first superhero film to earn a best picture nomination at the Oscars.
Boseman also played the role in the Marvel films Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
Other Marvel stars were among those who paid tribute to him on Saturday.
Mark Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk, said that “the accumulated tragedies this year have only deepened” with his death.
Tom Holland, who currently plays Spiderman, said that Boseman is a role model for millions of people around the world, while Captain America star Chris Evans and Thor actor Chris Hemsworth said they were heartbroken. for his death.
Black Panther was widely viewed as a cultural landmark for having a predominantly black cast and a black director.
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Boseman said last year that the film had changed what it means to be “young, talented and black.”
The eldest son of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr praised Boseman for his variety of roles, saying he “brought history to life” in his portrayals of real black men and was “a superhero to many” as Black Panther.
Award-winning musician John Legend called Boseman “a shining light” that “always seemed to take our ancestors with him.”
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Ava DuVernay, who has directed a number of powerful films and documentaries, including Selma, about the fight for civil rights in the 1960s, also paid tribute.
Others praised the strength she showed in acting during her cancer treatment.
“Showing us all that greatness between surgeries and chemotherapy. This is what dignity looks like,” tweeted TV star and author Oprah Winfrey.
Actress Halle Berry described him as an “incredible man with immeasurable talent, who leaned toward life regardless of his personal battles.”
Marvel Studios, which created Black Panther, said the actor’s legacy “will live on forever.”
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