Chadwick Boseman’s passing from colon cancer in 2020 was sudden and heartbreaking for many of his fans, friends, and family all around the world. The reason why many people couldn’t believe the passing is that Chadwick never went public about his condition at all, even working on films like Black Panther while trying to go through treatment. While people are grieving, it’s important to look at Chadwick and understand why he was a hero to many.
Responsibility
Since first starring as the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman understood that Black Panther wasn’t just a movie role to many but a pivotal character to audiences who haven’t seen that type of black representation on movie screens before. Chadwick first used his responsibility in discussions with Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther. Chadwick insisted that Black Panther needed to be a movie that fully represented African culture through the utilization of authentic African accents and other aspects of African culture. Marvel and Ryan Coogler both agreed on this which is why they all worked hard together to ensure that Black Panther would fit the vision that Chadwick insisted on. At the end of the day, Chadwick’s important discussions on creativity led to Black Panther becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. For anyone to be a hero in Hollywood, you always need to discuss responsibility.
Character choices
At the beginning of his career, Chadwick Boseman understood that he wasn’t yet to take on impactful fictional characters like the Black Panther which is why he set sights on important black figures in history. In his break-out film titled “42”, Chadwick played Jackie Robinson, the first Black baseball player in history. The film takes great importance to show audiences the struggles he had whether it be dealing with management that didn’t care for him or audiences that would just boo him. From there, the film makes a good message in showing that fighting through your struggles can lead to success not only for yourself but for many generations of people that will come after you. In addition to playing Jackie Robinson, Chadwick Boseman played as James Brown in the movie “Get on Up”, displaying his great talent in music and dancing on stage. Any actor whether they are starting or have been in the business for a long time should know that their role choices will follow them for a long time.
