Jeff Vespa/VF14/WireImage(LOS ANGELES) — Lupita Nyong’o has broken her silence on the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman.

The Oscar winner took to social media to honor her Black Panther co-star, who died at age 43 following a silent four-year battle with colon cancer.

“Chadwick was a man who made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time,” she wrote, calling Boseman’s death a “punch to my gut.”

“I didn’t know him for long,” Nyong’o continued, “but he had a profound effect on me in the time that I did.”

The 12 Years a Slave actress recalled “being struck by his quiet, powerful presence” upon meeting him for the first time and explained how simply being around Boseman made her want to “be better, less petty, more purposeful.”

“He was fueled by love, not fear,” Nyong’o wrote. “He moved quietly, deliberately and without imposing himself or his ideals on others. And yet he also made damn sure that his life meant something. He was unwavering about that.”

“He cared so deeply about humanity, about Black people, about his people,” she added. “He activated our pride. By pushing through and working with such high purpose in the films he chose to commit to, Chadwick has made the infinite his home.”

Aside from playing T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Boseman made a name for himself portraying real-life heroes from Black culture: Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42, James Brown in 2014’s Get on Up and Thurgood Marshall in 2017’s Marshall.

“We are all charged by his work as a result, by his presence in our lives,” Nyong’o concluded. “His power lives on and will reverberate for generations to come. He used his life force to tell meaningful stories. And now we tell his.”

By Carson Blackwelder
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