Chadwick Boseman May Have Hinted At Cancer Battle In 2017 Interview, Vowing To ‘Live To Tell The Story’

Chadwick Boseman admitted that he’d been through a lot and said “one day I’ll live to tell the story’, when he discussed taking on the challenging roles of Black Panther and Thurgood Marshall in a 2017 interview.

Chadwick Boseman may have subtly hinted at going through his cancer battle when he said some cryptic remarks during a 2017 interview with Huffington Post about his career. The late actor, who died at the age of 43 on Aug. 28 after a four-year battle with colon cancer, was talking about his physical state while filming three movies, including Captain America: Civil War, Marshall, and Black Panther, when he admitted he had been through “the wringer”, as the publication put it. “Oh, you don’t even know [laughs]. You have no idea,” he said, while referring he had been through a lot at that time, in the interview. “One day I’ll live to tell the story.”

It’s not clear on whether or not Chadwick’s comments were an indication of his cancer battle, but it’s definitely possible considering he was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, the year prior to the interview. He never publicly announced his battle even when the cancer progressed to stage four by 2020, and only his close family and friends knew of what he was going through. Due to this, the announcement of his death brought about shock to many of his fellow actors and admirers.

Once news got out about his passing, many of his former co-stars posted tributes on social media. Sterling K. Brown, his co-star in Black Panther, was one of the first people to post about his death on Twitter. “I don’t have words. Rest In Peace, Bruh. Thank you for all you did while you were here. Thank you for being a friend. You are loved. You will be missed,” he tweeted.

Angela Bassett, who played Chadwick’s iconic character T’Challa’s mother, also shared posts about the star. One of them included a series of photos that she took with him and another included a long caption that talked about how he was first her student escort at Howard University when she received an honorary degree from the school and when he later co-starred with her in Black Panther, it was like their friendship came full circle.

“This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal,” she wrote in her message. “So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother…’thou aren’t not dead but flown afar…’ All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince.” #WakandaForever.”