I’m still in a minor state of disbelief as I type this. I’m listening to an old podcast interview he did where he sounds as ‘healthy’ as I think most of us imagined him to be.

In Hollywood (and politics) there’s the ‘four quadrant’ model: if someone can hit multiple demographics, that’s the recipe for a hit, or in this case, a star. The past 24 hours have been the dark side of that theory.

Texts from friends depressingly relaying the stories of telling their kids ‘Black Panther’ is dead. Not to mention their own shock.

Texts within my own generation of black men, just as many of us have ‘accepted’ Kobe is really gone, and now another of our highest profile guys is gone just like that.

And the Hollywood shock. The shock of all of us as fans. Looking at the performances he gave us. Mourning the multitude of parts we all assumed he was just beginning to tap into.

On the most personal level, of course I loved Chadwick on many levels. To my knowledge the only time I was in the same room with him was a screening of ‘Get On Up,’ but everything I heard/observed was fantastic. A craftsman/artist who personally and professionally matured into ‘stardom’. Someone who very early on made the choice, ‘this is my work, and this is my private life.’ Most obviously, someone who appreciated and understood the value of representation.

I don’t have anything else to add that you haven’t heard from others by now. Rest In Power Chadwick. You’re already missed terribly.