AOLTyler Posey may play the part of hero on MTV's Teen Wolf, but as part of Zoe Saldana's AOL series My Hero, which finds celebrities thanking their personal heroes, Posey gifted his mother, who is battling breast cancer, with the ultimate wish on her dream board. We've seen the emotional reveal and yes, you should have tissues handy when you tune in.
With his episode of My Hero set to debut at midnight, we chatted with the Teen Wolf star about struggling to cope with his mother's illness and finding strength in the MTV hit's fandom.
"My mom has been recently really open about what she's going through, so it was perfect," Posey said of participating in the series, which has also featured Julianne Hough and Nick Cannon. "It's awesome for her to know how much I love her."
Posey has also been more open recently about his mother's cancer battle, and admitted to us he wasn't able to fully cope with the situation when she was first diagnosed, around the same time Teen Wolf premiered.
"When I was younger, when we were first going through it, when I was 18, it was definitely hard, partly because I didn't want to accept it and I didn't want to talk about it," he said. "But now—it's not second nature—but it's easier. It's nice being open because that opens doors for people to comfort you and share experiences with you. Sharing and being open about it is a really good thing."
And Posey told us the past five years have made him, and his family, "stronger," explaining, "I hate to say it, but it's kind of cool. It really makes you realize how real life is. And it's a horrible, unfortunate circumstance, but at the same time, it's a learning experience and you are nothing but stronger after it and during it. It's really a bittersweet, bizarre place I'm in with it right now."
Posey credited the Teen Wolf fans for their support, saying his mother sees all of the tweets more than he does. "They've been beyond loyal and sweet and compassionate. It's beyond anything I could ever ask for," he said. "It's extremely unnecessarily sweet of them to show the compassion that they do. I love it. My mom loves it. She needs it. I need it. The world needs more of it."
Posey's episode of Zoe Saldana Presents My Hero will debut on Nov. 21 at midnight on AOL Originals.