The Heartbreaking Death Of Monster's Ball Actor Coronji Calhoun Sr.

Coronji Calhoun Sr., who you met as Tyrell in "Monster's Ball," has died at the age of 30. A local Lousiana news outlet, 4WWL first confirmed his death in mid-October 2021, reporting at the time that Calhoun Sr. left behind a 10-year-old son and 13-year-old stepson. Calhoun's family wrote on a Go Fund Me set up for his funeral expenses that the former actor died on October 13. 

A native of small-town New Sarpy, Louisiana, Calhoun Sr. hadn't acted professionally since his debut role in "Monster's Ball." He got the role, per SF Gate, through an open call to audition. Halle Berry, who won an Oscar for portraying Calhoun Sr.'s mother in the movie, once remembered shooting scenes with Calhoun Sr. as particularly intense. "It was a lot harder than even the love scene because (Coronji) was really 10 and obese," Berry told the news outlet. "I worried that I would somehow damage him emotionally, not just in doing the scene, but down the road. So I talked to him a lot and hugged and kissed him a lot." 

In 2002, a year after "Monster's Ball" hit the theaters, Berry let on to iofilm that Calhoun was "still part of my life." She continued, "that's been meaningful for me. The aftermath. Staying in his life. Caring about what happens to him and I really genuinely do." 

As per what Coronji Calhoun Sr.'s mother Theresa Bailey told 4WWL, Calhoun died unexpectedly, of a combination of congestive heart failure and lung problems. Because the 31-year-old had no life insurance a the time of his death, his family set up a Go Fund Me to raise money for funeral expenses. Bailey updated the page on November 10, 2021. "We are blown away by the outpouring of love the community and Coronji's adopted family has shown during our process of grief," Bailey wrote. "As we close this chapter, we ask that in your remembrance of him, you remember to love your neighbor as yourself, because that is what Coronji did for his entire community."

The Go Fund Me in question suggests that both Halle Berry and Lee Daniels — Monster Balle's producer — made sizeable contributions to the family's financial goals.