Viola Davis Breaks Down During Chadwick Boseman’s Posthumous Walk of Fame Ceremony

Viola Davis couldn’t help but get emotional while celebrating her late friend and co-star Chadwick Boseman during his posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedication ceremony Thursday.

The Oscar-winning actress got teary-eyed while honoring the late Black Panther star in a speech five years after his death at 43 due to cancer.

“I have to believe that Chadwick is still alive. I can’t use the word gone or death, really,” Davis began. “When thinking about him, it’s like the quote, ‘When the last person who has a memory of you [dies] that’s when you’ll truly be dead.’”

Davis, who worked with Boseman on what would be his final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, recalled the words of wisdom she received from her co-star while having a deep conversation with him in which she admitted, “When I’m not acting, I don’t know who I am.”

“He would say, ‘Oh no, Viola, you can’t let that happen,’” she recalled of Boseman’s response. “‘What I do is I carry my djembe drum everywhere I go. I don’t care if it gets in the way of luggage. I don’t care if I have to argue with the airline stewardess of where I’m gonna put it. I need my drum.’”

She continued, “That djembe drum is a talking drum; he would play it on the set. You could hear it in his trailer. It was more than just a sound; it was more than just music; it resounded through the entire soundstage, and he would play it fervently. Chadwick, you channeled the divine. You were a conduit.”

Davis grew more emotional as she said that Boseman ultimately created art that “reminded us that we are less alone,” adding, “I thank him for what he left behind in me, which is a burning amber that always guides me to a higher meaning of my work and my purpose. This star, as beautiful as it is on the Walk of Fame, shines a whole lot less brighter than Chadwick does in heaven.”

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler also spoke at Thursday’s ceremony, saying that Boseman “felt thousands of years old” because of how “calm” and “wise” he was.

“We continue to carry him with us,” Coogler said later. “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.”

The star dedication ceremony was also attended by Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman, as well as Black Panther co-stars Michael B. Jordan and Letitia Wright, and Disney CEO Bob Iger.