Chadwick Boseman's widow makes rare admission as late husband receives new honour

Five years on from his tragic passing, actor Chadwick Boseman has this week been bestowed a prestigious honour.

The much-loved actor - famed for having portrayed James Brown in the hit biographical musical Get On Upl, and superhero T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther - died in August 2020, aged 43.

Four years earlier, Boseman had been diagnosed with colon cancer, which progressed to stage IV.

The South Carolina star never discussed his health battle in public, with a source telling The Hollywood Reporter: "Only a handful of non-family members knew that Boseman was sick... with varying degrees of knowledge about the severity of [his] condition."

As we say, however, the award-winning film star was this week awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - something his wife Simone Ledward-Boseman discussed in a rare public appearance.

Boseman's widow spoke out (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Speaking at a Los Angeles ceremony on Thursday (20 Nov), she became emotional telling onlookers of her late husband: "Chad was more than an actor or even an artist, he was a spiritual teacher, fortified by a family and close friends that kept him grounded in faith, a team that believed in him, protected him and fought for him."

Ledward-Boseman - who secretly married the actor in the midst of his cancer battle - added: "Colleagues that trusted his vision, that lifted him up and forged a real brotherhood, you have no idea how pivotal those moments were, thank you.

"Chad taught all of us a great deal. His heart was so vast, he could give each and every person a specific part of him and still have so much left to share with the world."

She went on to claim that Boseman had 'come to her in a dream', telling her 'there was only so much that he could do from here'.

Boseman's shoes were placed on the star (UNIQUE NICOLE/AFP via Getty Images)

"These words were echoed by a close friend only days later, as if to say, in case you didn’t hear me the first time," Ledward-Boseman continued.

The late actor's star marks the 2,828th on Hollywood Boulevard. His widow placed a pair of his shoes beside them as a symbol of him 'stepping' onto his latest accolade beside her.

The director Black Panther also spoke during the ceremony, wearing a bracelet that Boseman gifted to him prior to his death.

"We continue to carry him with us," Ryan Coogler told attendees. "Chad was a star deserving of a star on the Walk of Fame, but he was also our most incredible jewel, he reflected light, he refracted it.

"And when he did, he showed the greatness of our people, and the universe of our shared humanity, thank you Chad."