EXCLUSIVE
A heartbroken Australian actor is mourning the loss of his young son, who lost his battle with a rare form of brain tumor.
Eka Darville, best known for his starring roles in Power Rangers RPM and Marvel’s Jessica Jones and The Defenders, put his career on hold earlier this year after then-nine-year-old Mana was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer.
After being told there was little more doctors could do in Australia, Darville and his wife Lila moved their young family to America, where Mana underwent risky marathon surgery in April to remove as much of the primary tumor as possible.
Updates on Mana’s condition and recovery remained private until recently, when Darville revealed his son was still fighting but the tumor was growing back “faster than ever” as he urged fans to keep his son in their prayers .
Darville’s mother Malaika has now revealed in a heartbreaking video that her grandson Mana, who has now turned 10, passed away in the US this weekend.
Eka Darville’s son Mana (pictured) has lost his courageous fight for life
“I still wanted to come together in this prayer because he will still always be with us and he is still with us,” she said in a video on Let’s Go Mana’s fundraising page.
“You can imagine the amount of sadness and grief from Eka, Lila and Lila’s parents, his grandparents, myself and his little brothers.
‘But at the same time there is a lot of joy. There is a lot of peace. There is a lot of silence in the house after such a long battle of 463 days since the whole ordeal started. And now he is free. Now he dances in the light.’
“We all see it, we feel it and I know many of you, like me, loved Mana forever.”
The sad news prompted an outpouring of tributes from those who followed his journey.
Former Home and Away star and fellow Byron Bay resident Isabella Lucas was one of several high-profile stars to share their condolences.
‘I mourn with you, in honor of his life. I love you so much,” she wrote.
Australian actress Teresa Palmer added: “Sending immense love your way, friends.”
Actor Eka Darville (left) recently called on everyone to keep his son Mana (right) in their prayers
Eka Darville and wife Lila were told by Australian doctors in January that there was little they could do, so the couple sought treatment in the United States.
Darville had only recently revealed that Mana was still fighting despite the latest setback.
There were plans to access additional treatments from Europe and Japan.
“We have been through an absolute odyssey over the past six months with highs and lows that have pushed our ability to be ‘human’ past every limit we thought we had,” he wrote.
‘We witnessed real life miracles when Mana could no longer walk, but did ninja rolls off the side of the bed, rock climbing, swimming and not only getting out of the wheelchair, but running without assistance!
‘The heartwarming news is that after months of stability and miraculous progress in his physical rehabilitation, the tumor has clawed its way back and is growing faster than ever.
“In light of this latest challenge, we stand steadfast in our commitment to his complete recovery and will accept nothing less.”
The family’s lives were turned upside down in July 2022 when Mana collapsed on a beach and suffered a seizure that left the right side of his body paralyzed.
At the time, he was misdiagnosed with focal cortical dysplasia, a brain abnormality believed to have been present since birth.
Mana (pictured early in his fight for life) died after the tumor returned and started growing again
For the next five months, Mana continued to suffer daily uncontrolled seizures and was eventually rushed to hospital again in January, where an MRI revealed two large tumors growing across the surface of his brain.
He underwent a 14-hour marathon operation in Australia, but only 60 percent of one tumor could be removed before Darville went abroad to find a cure for Mona.
Originally from Byron Bay in northern NSW, Darville is best known for his role as Malcolm Ducasse in Marvel’s Jessica Jones and The Defenders and as Red Ranger Scott Truman in Power Rangers RPM and its sequel Samurai.
He also appeared in Spartacus, Terra Nova, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Empire, Her Smell and Tell Me a Story.
His latest role in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to hit theaters in 2024.
Eka Darville burst onto the scene in 2009 as Red Ranger Scott Truman in Power Rangers RPM
He also starred in Marvel’s Jessica Jones (pictured with David Tennant and Krysten Ritter)