Chadwick Boseman Talked About His Bond with Kobe Bryant Just Months Ago

Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant are two stars who we lost way too soon this year and they actually shared a special bond.

After Kobe tragically died in a helicopter crash in January, Chadwick opened up about the connection they shared in the few times they spent together.

Chadwick appeared on an episode of the HBO show The Shop: Uninterrupted in March and opened up about the conversations he had with Kobe.

“He’s not somebody that I was best friends with or that I knew really well,” Chadwick said (via People). “But the crazy thing is that in those four conversations, it felt like somebody that I knew really well.”

“The first time I saw him was before he won the Oscar,” Chadwick said. “It was crazy because we were sitting in the party talking about philosophy and poetry — that’s who he was. He was like, ‘This is what I’m into right now as an artist, not as a basketball player.’ We started talking about it, I’m like ‘Yo we should do something together.’ He was applying the same type of focus that he’s applied to basketball, as a producer or director, whatever.”

“He looked at me and I saw his eyes go in like he was meditating,” he added. “He looked up to me and he said, ‘Two years.’ It’s like he saw the whole thing unfold and he was like, ‘I need two years.’ And I walked away and I said to my fiancé, ‘Yo, he is who they say he is.’”

After Kobe died, Chadwick took to Twitter and said, “I’m heartbroken. Shocked. Husband, Father, Strategist, Philosopher-Poet, Warrior-Athlete, Filmmaker…your focus is magnetic, Kobe. My love goes out to you and your family.”

Chadwick passed away on Friday (August 28) after losing his four-year battle with colon cancer.

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