Robert Downey Jr’s tribute to Avengers’ co-star Chadwick Boseman
Robert Downey Jr and Don Cheadle have paid tribute to their Avengers co-star Chadwick Boseman, saying the Black Panther icon ‘truly embodied what it meant to be a superhero’.
Taking to the (virtual) stage at the MTV Movie & TV Awards overnight, the stars posthumously honoured Boseman, who died in August at the age of 43 following a private, four-year battle with colon cancer.
He had been given the hero of the ages award, which recognises stars who are heroes both on and off screen, with his Marvel comrades hailing him an ‘icon’.
Downey Jr, who played Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel franchise, said, appearing in a video: ‘The second you first saw him onscreen or had the opportunity to meet him in person, his energy and intensity was undeniable.
‘There was something different and special about Chadwick Boseman. Mr. Boseman truly embodied what it meant to be a superhero. His impact as a groundbreaking leading man, as an icon on screen … it won’t be quantified by the box office records he broke but by the legion of fans who will celebrate him for many years to come.
‘He was the most heroic when just being Chad. That’s when he was bigger than anyone he played onscreen.’
Don and Robert were on hand to present the award (Picture: MTV)
Cheadle, who starred as James Rhodes/War Machine in the franchise, also praised Boseman’s ‘incredible power to unify people’.
He added: ‘With every role he created a new legion of fans. He has an incredible power to unify people and their love for his work and their respect for him as a person. The way he lived his life united people behind a higher purpose – and that will be his legacy.’
Chadwick Boseman died earlier this year (Picture: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
The posthumous honour comes as Boseman was recently announced as the recipient of the actor tribute at the 2021 Gotham Awards, where his Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-star Viola Davis will be honoured with the actress equivalent.
He is the second actor to receive a tribute posthumously, after James Gandolfini in 2013.
The 2020 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time winners list:
GOAT: dance your a*s off:
Kevin Bacon – Footloose
GOAT: comedy giant:
Kevin Hart
GOAT: dynamic duo:
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore – The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates and Blended
GOAT: scream queen:
Jamie Lee Curtis
GOAT: legendary lip lop:
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair – Cruel Intentions
GOAT: heartbreaking breakup:
Jason Segel and Kristen Bell – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
GOAT: she-ro:
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman
GOAT: hero for the ages:
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther
GOAT: zero to hero:
William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence – The Karate Kid
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