There are movie star heroes and then there are real-life heroes. During Monday night’s 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, pop culture fans were thrilled when Chadwick Boseman won the Best Hero award for his role in Black Panther.
The #MTVAwards Best Hero @chadwickboseman shares his award with a real life hero 🏆 pic.twitter.com/dTyqcmFVwx
— MTV (@MTV) June 19, 2018
But when taking to the stage at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., the Hollywood actor couldn’t help but honor a special man who saved countless lives.
“Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing, but it’s even greater to acknowledge the heroes that we have in real life. So I just want to acknowledge somebody that’s here today. James Shaw Jr. Where are you? Stand,” Chadwick shared while on stage. “You didn’t even know we were about to do this, did you? If you don’t know James Shaw Jr., he fought off a gunman in Antioch, Tennessee, at a waffle house. He saved lives.”
The actor added, “SO this is going to live at your house. God bless you man.”
Visibly surprised, James received a standing ovation from the audience as he walked on and off stage. He also posed for photos with the actor backstage.
“I was honored to meet @JamesShawJr9. He saved countless lives by tackling a gunman who opened fire on people in Antioch, Tennessee in April,” Chadwick shared on Twitter. “He’s a true hero that walks among us.”
During his acceptance speech, the actor also expressed his appreciation to moviegoers who showed their support for Black Panther.
“You made this movie special. You made this moment special,” he shared. “When Black Panther came out, we wanted to make sure that we did a movie that everybody could embrace so thank you so much for what you did.”
This article originally appeared on E News.