Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away in August, and tributes have continued to come in for the late actor throughout the year. Now, Boseman has received a posthumous award during the 2020 MTV Awards, and Avengers co-stars Robert Downey Jr and Don Cheadle paid tribute to the late actor as part of the ceremony.
With COVID-19 stemming the flow of new films, this year’s MTV Movie and TV Awards is a “Greatest Of All Time” ceremony, celebrating fan favorites from all years. Boseman won the “Hero for the Ages” award, with Downey and Cheadle appearing through a video link to talk about their friend.
“There was something different and special about Chadwick Boseman,” Downey Jr says. “He had an incredible power to unify people,” Cheadle continues. “The way he lived his life united people behind a higher purpose, and that will be his legacy.”
Downey Jr says that Boseman “truly embodied what it means to be a superhero,” and Cheadle notes that this goes beyond his work for Marvel. “He brought humanity and truth to his portrayal of people who felt larger than life, and he did it in ways that honored their memories,” he says.
Both actors praise Boseman on a personal level, beyond his performances, and call him a real hero beyond the character he portrayed.
Boseman’s final film performance as a jazz musician in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will come to Netflix on December 18. Black Panther 2 is still happening, but it won’t feature a CGI recreation of Chadwick.