Chadwick Boseman

Background

Chadwick Aaron Boseman was an African-American actor and playwright whose talents and endearing personality won the hearts of millions of fans worldwide. He was born on November 29, 1976, in Anderson, South Carolina. Boseman’s mother, Carolyn, was a nurse, while his father, Leroy, worked at a textile factory. He graduated from T.L. Hanna High School in 1995 and attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. Boseman received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing in 2000. While at college, Boseman attended the Oxford Summer Program of the British American Drama Academy at Balliol College, Oxford, with some other classmates. This was in 1998, and their attendance was sponsored by legendary actor Denzel Washington, a friend of his mentor and teacher, Phylicia Rashad. He also took a course in film at the Digital Film Academy in New York.

Boseman received recognition as a director and playwright in his early career, and he got his first television role in an episode of “Third Watch” in 2003. The same year, he played Reggie Montgomery in the soap opera “All My Children.” Other of Boseman’s earliest works include “Law & Order,” “E.R.,” and “Cold Case.” After several more plays, including “Deep Azure,” his best-known one, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. He got a recurring role in the T.V. series “Lincoln Heights” (2008). By 2010, Boseman landed his first regular role in “Persons Unknown.” In 2013, he received his breakthrough role as Jackie Robinson in “42.” Boseman’s career took off from there. He starred in “Draft Day” and “Get on Up” (2014), which got him a myriad of positive reviews. He then starred as Thoth in “Gods of Egypt” (2016). The same year, Boseman began playing prince T’Challa, also known as Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His first film as the character was “Captain America: Civil War.” By 2018, he starred in “Black Panther,” a film that brought him international recognition and critical acclaim. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, making it the first superhero film to achieve said nomination. Boseman reprised his role as Black Panther for “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019).

Boseman appeared in many more films, including “Da 5 Bloods” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which earned him a Golden Globe Best Actor Award and a spot on “Time” magazine’s 10 Best Movie Performances of 2020. The talented actor achieved enviable career status, and his personal life was behind the scenes. He was engaged to Taylor Simone in 2019, and they later married in secret. On August 28, 2020, news of Boseman’s death shook the world. He had been diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and it progressed to stage IV in 2019. Before his death, Boseman had gone through several surgeries and chemotherapy. He gave this world something intangible, something immortal, and his game-changing legacy will forever remain.