The 'Black Panther' star dedicated his 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards win to 'the Waffle House hero' on Monday.
Chadwick Boseman is paying tribute to a real-life superhero.
The Black Panther star won the award for Best Hero at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which aired Monday from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. And while he felt honored to accept the award for his role as T'Challa/Black Panther in the popular Marvel film, he gave his Golden Popcorn to someone whom he felt was more deserving: James Shaw Jr.
Back in April, Shaw Jr. was hailed as a hero after saving lives by disarming a gunman, identified by police as Travis Reinking, who opened fire at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. Reinking fatally shot four people using an AR-15 rifle, and wounded several others, including Shaw Jr. According to The New York Times, officials later said that there would have been "greater bloodshed" had Shaw Jr. not intervened.
"Thank you to the fans -- you made this movie special. You made this moment special," Boseman said during his speech, after Zazie Beetz and Olivia Munn presented him with the award. "When Black Panther came out, [director] Ryan Coogler and I wanted to make sure that we did a a movie that everybody could embrace. So thank you so much for what you did."
"Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing, but it's even greater to acknowledge the heroes that we have in real life," he continued, as cameras panned to Shaw Jr. "So i just want to acknowledge somebody who's here today -- James Shaw Jr. If you don't know James Shaw Jr, he fought off a gunman in Antioch, Tennessee, at a Waffle House to save lives."
The 40-year-old actor then invited Shaw Jr. to the stage. The electrician-turned-hero couldn't seem to help himself from smiling as he made his way from his seat to the podium.
"So, this is gonna live at your house," Boseman said, handing over the award to Shaw Jr.
In addition to Best Hero, Boseman is also nominated for Best Performance in a Movie, while Black Panther is up for Best Fight, Best On-Screen Team and Best Movie, all to be announced later in the show. In the meantime, see the full list of winners (so far!) here, and watch the video below to hear highlights from our red carpet interviews with the cast of Stranger Things.
RELATED CONTENT:
