At the age of only 43, Chadwick Boseman died suddenly of colon cancer. He became a superstar in 2018 with his leading role in "Black Panther".
The film world mourns a true superhero. Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020) died of colon cancer at the age of just 43, as confirmed on his official Instagram account. His leading role in "Black Panther" made him famous, after the blockbuster was released in theaters in 2018, the US-American was treated as the new king in the Marvel universe. Who was the Hollywood star?
He had African roots
Chadwick Boseman was born in Anderson in the US state of South Carolina in 1977. His ancestors came from West Africa, they belonged to the Limba ethnic group in Sierra Leone. Originally, Boseman didn't want to be an actor, but rather work as a scriptwriter or director. "I really only started acting because I wanted to know what the actors actually do, how to communicate with them. And then I realized that I should do everything. So I went to college," he once said in a radio interview in New York.
Prior to his first jobs in showbiz, Boseman received his bachelor's degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He also studied at the University of Oxford, one of the most renowned universities in the world. His career only picked up speed relatively late.
It all started with television
Boseman landed his first roles in the early 2000s. He had, for example, guest appearances in the TV series "Third Watch – Einsatz am Limit", "Emergency Room – Die Notaufnahme" and "Fringe – Grenzfalls des FBI". His first major engagement followed in 2013. In the film "42 – The True Story of a Sports Legend" he played baseball player Jackie Robinson, who in 1947 became the first African American to make it into the American professional baseball league (MLB). Hollywood star Harrison Ford (75, "Bath Runner") was seen alongside Boseman.
His performance as musician James Brown (1933-2006) in the biopic "Get on Up" was just as well received by critics in 2014 – possibly putting him on Marvel's radar. In the same year he was announced as cast member of Black Panther. In 2016 he was finally seen in "The First Avenger: Civil War" for the first time at the side of the other Marvel heroes. After "Black Panther" he slipped into his superhero suit again in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame". He was under contract for a total of five films. But he wanted more than that.
More than just an actor
Chadwick Boseman didn't want to just establish himself as an actor in Hollywood. In an interview with "GQ" he once said that his first agents had told him that he could not work as an actor, screenwriter and / or director. But Boseman wasn't intimidated by that. Instead, he confidently replied: "I'll show you!"
And he was right. Universal had already bought an idea for a thriller from him and his co-writer Logan Coles a few years ago, and he acted as executive or (co-) producer on several productions. In his opinion, some of the best lyrics by the "Black Panther" star were written when he used to be poor and hungry and ate only water and porridge, he told "GQ".
The cancer diagnosis couldn't stop him
In the four years after his cancer diagnosis in 2016, Chadwick Boseman continued to appear in front of the camera despite countless surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. After his work as civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) in "Marshall" (2017) and as Black Panther in the following years, he was seen in the thriller "21 Bridges" in 2019. His last appearance so far was in the drama "Da 5 Bloods", which was released last June and directed by Spike Lee (63).
The all-rounder has apparently never given up. Boseman was able to finish the film "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", which is slated for release later this year. According to the Internet film database "IMDb", at the time of his death he was working on the television series "What If …?", Which he again voiced as the Black Panther. In addition, Chadwick Boseman was soon to play a real hero again: "Yasuke", the only known samurai of African origin who lived in Japan in the 16th century.