It's hard to remember that there was a time when most people didn't know the meaning of
"Wakanda forever!" But few anticipated that Chadwick Boseman's regal performance would
help to make a massive hit of Black Panther. Turns out, the real-life man was just as interesting
as the king he portrayed.
Chadwick Boseman, who became one of the brightest stars of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, was
an actor as believable in high-octane action scenes as he was depicting the solemn duties
of a nation's leader.
While the character had been around for decades, it was Boseman's legendary performance as
the King of Wakanda that made Black Panther a household name. And so it was a brutal shock
to the world when news hit of his unexpected passing at the age of 43. According to a statement
released by his family, Boseman died after a brave four-year fight with colon cancer.
By far his best-known movie as a lead actor, Black Panther changed the world when it premiered
in 2018. With great reviews, award nominations, and over a billion dollars at the box office,
the movie took superhero cinema to adventurous new heights. Within weeks of the movie's premiere,
Boseman went from being a lesser-known character actor to a bona fide, worldwide cultural icon.
But Black Panther wasn't Boseman's first time playing a world-changing hero. Before he stepped
into T'Challa's royal sandals, he was depicting the all-time greats of music, sports, and
lawmaking.
Boseman's first starring role came in 2013, when he portrayed the legendary Jackie Robinson
in the baseball biopic 42. He followed this up a year later with another biography, Get
On Up, in which he brought the electric skill of singer James Brown to life. Three years
later, he once again slipped effortlessly into an iconic figure's skin when he played
lawyer (and later, Supreme Court Justice) Thurgood Marshall in 2017's Marshall.
Though some of his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars might have had longer careers than
Boseman before they joined the sprawling franchise, no one had more experience playing real-life
heroes.
It might be surprising to learn that Boseman actually spent much of his life wanting to
be behind the camera instead of in front of it. His original aspirations didn't even involve
the camera at all — only a pen, some paper, and his own imagination.
Boseman began his life in the performing arts as a playwright, writing and staging his first
play in high school.
Entitled Crossroads, the play was a deeply personal piece — the story of a basketball
teammate who'd been shot and killed while they were still in school. The actor recalled
his inspiration to write the story during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2018, saying,
"I just had a feeling that this was something that was calling me. Suddenly, playing basketball
wasn't as important."
Years later, his play Deep Azure would go on to be performed by professional theater
companies and even win a few awards.
Writing wasn't the only experience Boseman had on the creative side of the performing
arts. He also nurtured an ambition in being a director, and originally began to study
acting as a means of achieving that goal. His college degree was a testament to this
ambition: he graduated from Howard University in 2000 with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in
directing.
Boseman remarked in a radio interview with New York's Power 105.1 in 2014,
"I actually started out wanting to direct, wanting to write. I really only started acting
because I wanted to know what the actors were doing, how to communicate with the actors.
And then I realized I'm supposed to do all of it."
Boseman went on to study the craft from every angle possible, including a stint at the world-famous
Oxford University. And while Boseman's acting talents were a delight for audiences everywhere
to enjoy, we can only imagine what the world might've lost with his life cut short before
he could write and direct once again.
Connections are key in any industry, and can be a tremendously positive force in providing
for an actor's big break. How can anyone, let alone someone pursuing the arts, navigate
such stormy seas alone?
Boseman had a few mentors, but veteran actor Phylicia Rashad stands out as a particularly
meaningful one.
Rashad has a massive treasure trove of experience to share: From her starring role as Clair
Huxtable on The Cosby Show to her Tony-winning performance in A Raisin in the Sun, Rashad
is a grand dame and an accomplished teacher.
Rashad and Boseman met at Howard, where she served as one of his professors. As Boseman
later recalled to Rolling Stone, quote, "We were just trying to aspire to her excellence."
All these years later, it seems clear that he made that goal a reality.
Phylicia Rashad might rank as one of Boseman's most impressive mentors, but she's far from
the only one. It turns out that Oscar winner, box office breaker, and general Hollywood
icon Denzel Washington also had a hand in Boseman's success when he helped fund Boseman's
time at a prestigious summer theater program in Britain's legendary Oxford University.
After Boseman and a number of other students got into the program but found that they wouldn't
be able to afford it, Rashad reached out to some celebrity friends for support.
Boseman discovered after the fact that Washington had funded him, and wrote him a thank-you
letter.
Though he was reluctant to reach out to him for fear that Washington might think he was
asking for extra help, Boseman ended up getting to thank Washington in person at the New York
premiere of Black Panther.
"He was like, 'I haven't met you yet.' And I said, 'Yeah, I got to tell you something.
You paid for me to go to school.' He said, 'Oh, so that's why I'm here — you owe me
money!'"
Teaching is one of the most everyday acts of heroism around. Boseman himself had participated
in this long and noble tradition, working, naturally, in the world of drama.
Back in 2014, the Michigan Chronicle profiled Boseman as a "star on the rise," paying special
attention to his tenure at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. There,
he worked as a drama instructor as part of the Schomburg Junior Scholars program, and
continued to highlight its important work in his new capacity as a world-famous movie
star.
Any career path can be a rocky road, but few are more harrowing than that of an actor.
One great audition can change a life completely — but so many aspiring talents never get
their big break.
Boseman knows this better than most. Before he was cast as Jackie Robinson in 42, he was
thinking of giving up on acting altogether. He told GQ in 2014,
"Nobody had called me. Nobody had told me anything. I had gone in for it 100 percent,
but there was no reason for me to think I'd done well."
He came perilously close to giving up on acting altogether, until he landed the role of Robinson
and the skies began to clear.
Given that this interview happened before he was cast in what would become his biggest
role by far, even he didn't realize how much higher he was going to climb.
Stars come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some draw from childhoods rich in love but
poor in finances. Others come from long and glamorous lines of Hollywood hitmakers. And
some, like Boseman, come from loving homes and families that cheer them on through thick
and thin.
And his was a big family. With his extended family accounted for, his number of blood
relatives ends up less like a cheering section and more like the entirety of the bleachers.
He shared in an interview with the Mr. Porter journal in 2016,
"When my grandmother died, she left 115 grandkids and great-grandkids. That was just one side."
He credited his family's love and support as key to his ascension to stardom, and one
can bet they must be proud of how gloriously far he'd gotten in his career and life. He
leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered by not just his family, but the entire world.