Black Panther’s John Kani Shares His Heartwarming Response When People Mistake Him for Chadwick Boseman’s Real Father

Legendary South African actor John Kani (81) has the fondest memories of working with Chadwick Boseman in Black panther.

Kani, who played T’Chaka, the father of Boseman’s T’Challa’s, in the 2018 film, opened up about his experience at the film’s LA premiere. Mufasa: The Lion King December 9.

“Here’s this kid. He’s amazing. I’m with my son, Atandwa. And they were both like kids to me, they called me ‘Dad,'” he told PEOPLE. In fact, Kani says he and Boseman forged such a strong bond while working that when Boseman died in 2020, Kani received an outpouring of condolences from people who thought he had lost his biological son.

Lupita Nyong’o paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman on what would have been his 48th birthday in Moving Post

“When Chadwick passed away, I got a thousand messages of deepest sympathy,” he said. “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 it’s my son. Amazing, a real top professional,” said Kani.

As for Boseman’s work ethic, Kani revealed that the late actor was tireless when it came to getting the scenes right in the Marvel movie.

“He wanted to be sure. In Chad, we had a sense of time,” Kani said. “He worked according to a schedule that only he knew, [and understood] that we didn’t get enough time. He wanted a 25-hour day so he could get a chance to say whatever he wanted. That was my experience with Chadwick.”

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Lupita Nyong’o and Chadwick Boseman in 2018.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Boseman passed away in 2020 after a four-year private battle with colon cancer. Before working together in Black pantherBoseman and Kani also appeared together in Captain America: Civil War back in 2016

To mark Boseman’s 48th birthday on November 29, his former co-star and close friend, Lupita Nyong’o, shared a sweet photo of herself and the late actor on Instagram.

In the caption, Nyong’o shared a quote from 20th-century Dutch Catholic priest and theologian Henri Nouwen that reads: “Those you loved deeply who died live on in you, not just as memories, but as real presences.”

“Let’s remember that Chadwick Boseman was born on this day. 🙏🏿👑💜,” she added.

John Kani and his son Atandwa Kani.

Amy Sussman/WireImage

As for Kani, he will reprise his role as Rafiki in Barry Jenkins’ prequel on December 20th Mufasa: The Lion King.

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“I was Rafiki in 2019 with Jon Favreau and now coming back to work with Barry Jenkins, I felt like [putting on] my old jacket. You know that jacket in the closet that everyone says is out of style, it doesn’t look nice. But when you put it on, it still has that little aroma and it brings back those memories,” he said of working on the project.

Kani also found some similarities between himself and his character, telling PEOPLE that he is essentially the grandfather of the cast.

“Coming back to Rafika was an amazing journey,” he said. “We’re both over 80, that’s another thing. And I’ve got seven kids and ten grandkids now. So talking to Blue Ivy as Kiara, I knew [how to do] that [because] I always talk to my grandchildren.”

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Source: HIS Education