Veteran South African actor John Kani recently shared some fond memories of his Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman and also recalled when people thought the deceased actor was actually his biological son.
Kani, 81, reflected on Boseman’s legacy during an interview with PEOPLE at the L.A. premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King on December 9. Kani played T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father in Black Panther. Boseman played T’Challa in the box-office hit movie.
“Here is this kid. He is incredible. I’m with my son, Atandwa. And both of them were like my children, they called me ‘daddy’ right through,” Kani said, adding that people even sent him their condolences when Boseman sadly passed away.
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“When Chadwick passed away, I got a thousand messages of deepest condolences,” he recalled. “At first I tried to explain, ‘No, he’s not my son, he’s my son in the movie…’ [but] I [have] just accepted now that he was my son. An incredible, true consummate professional.”
Kani also touched on Boseman’s work ethic when the movie was being shot. “He wanted to be sure. In Chad we had a sense of time,” said Kani. “He worked on a schedule he only knew, [and understood] that we haven’t gotten enough time. He wanted a 25-hour day so he could get the opportunity to say everything he wanted to say. That was my experience with Chadwick.”
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Boseman died on August 28, 2020, at the age of 43 after battling colon cancer. Boseman’s medical condition was not publicly known. A statement from his family said he was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 and filmed many movies “during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”
In 2016, Kani received the national honour of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, for his “excellent contributions to theatre and, through this, the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.”
The veteran actor plays Rafiki, a role he reprises, in Mufasa: The Lion King. “I was Rafiki in 2019 with Jon Favreau and coming back to work with Barry Jenkins now, it felt like [putting on] my old jacket. You know that jacket in the wardrobe that everybody says is out of fashion, it’s not looking nice. But when you put it on, it’s still got that little aroma, and it gives you back those memories,” Kani said.
The 81-year-old explained why he relates to that character. “Going back to Rafiki was an incredible journey,” he said. “We’re both over 80, that’s the other thing. I too, now have seven children and 10 grandchildren. So talking to Blue Ivy as Kiara, I knew [how to do] that [because] I’m always talking to grandchildren.”
READ ALSO: How a kiss put the life of this iconic South African actor in danger during apartheid
