Chadwick Boseman: A Little History About the Black Panther Actor
Chadwick Boseman was relatively unknown to the worldwide audience before he appeared in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ in 2016 as the Black Panther. However, even before the role, he had already taken up roles that portrayed prominent figures. He played Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MBL) in the 20th century, for the 2013 biographical sports film, ‘42’. The following year, he portrayed the legendary singer James Brown in the biographical music drama film ‘Get on Up’.
But, what gained him international fame and acclaim was his portrayal of T’Challa/Black Panther in the 2018 Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’. ‘Black Panther’ became the first Marvel film to feature predominantly black cast and the first MCU film to win an Academy Award and nomination for the Best Picture. But, the recognitions were not only reserved for the film. Boseman received MTV Movie Award for Best Hero, his first award, along with other nominations. He reprised his role of Black Panther in the following two Avengers movies - ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’.
While Boseman only got his breakthrough role in 42, his first appearance in TV was in 2003 for the TV series Third Watch in a one-episode role. His first recurring role came as the portrayal of Nathaniel Ray in the family drama TV series, ‘Lincoln Heights’ (2008-09). He made his first feature film debut in ‘The Express: The Ernie Davis Story’ in 2008 as Floyd Little for a small role.
He landed another prominent role in the 2010 mistery thriller ‘Persons Unknown’. He played the role of Sergeant Graham McNair in the series. He continued making guest appearances in different TV series until he landed his first lead role in the indie film ‘The Kill Hole’ in 2013.
Born Chadwick Aaron Boseman on November 29, 1977, to African American Parents, Leroy and Carolyn Boseman, in South Caroline, Chadwick studied at T.L. Hanna High School.
It was during this time that Boseman first got acquainted with the stage. He wrote and staged a play titled Crossroads, as a response to one of the students being shot and killed. After high school, he attended Howard University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Directing in 2000. He went on to attend the summer program at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. While he was making appearances for different TV series, he continued to write plays. The play ‘Deep Azure’, written by him, was nominated for Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work in 2006. During his initial years, he wanted to become a writer and director rather than an actor. And, he was even considering quitting acting and pursue directing full-time before he auditioned for 42.
But, fortunately, he decided to pursue acting and is going strong with his acting. He is set to appear in the film ‘Da 5 Bloods’, directed by Spike Lee. The film is about four Vietnam veterans who decide to return to Vietnam to find the remains of their squad’s leader and the promised buried treasure. The film is scheduled to release in 2020.
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