This would have been his 44th birthday. It is still hard to concede that Chadwick Boseman, a marvellously capable actor, an inspiration to millions and a Hollywood icon, is written and spoken about in past tense. Almost as shocking was the news of Boseman passing away on August 28 was the disclosure of the fact that the actor had spent the past four years battling colon cancer.
Taking the bull by the horns, he managed to shoot at least seven films after his cancer diagnosis, including three of the biggest films of all-time. Shooting remarkable pieces of cinema while going through countless surgeries and chemotherapy, perhaps it’s not surprising that Boseman was so good at playing a fictional superhero on screen.
He was remarkable at playing real-life heroes too. Boseman did the herculean task of portraying 20th century’s most distinguished athlete and one of its greatest singers within a single year. He appeared as legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, who broke the colour line by playing in Major League Baseball, and funk music icon, James Brown in 2014 films 42 and Get on Up, respectively. Another real-life role that shaped his status as a fine actor was that of Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights activist who became the first Black justice of the US Supreme Court, in the film Marshall.
However, him playing T’Challa, the Black Panther, in four Marvel films: Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame will always be etched as the highest point in his cinematic journey. His characters spoke to millions not only because of the charisma it had but also because of the impact it caused by becoming a genuine representative of the communities of people of colour around the world.
Nonetheless, looking at his last performance in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods now, it appears as cathartic as a textbook farewell as it is melancholic. He plays Stormin’ Norman Earl Holloway, a heroic character emerged from a tragedy who is only preserved in the memory of his friends. It’s hard to imagine him playing that character knowing his health condition.
His fans, however, will witness his transfixing screen presence in his final screen performance in George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom which is planned for later this year on Netflix.
It is still surreal that we’ll never see Boseman again after that, but then again his nonchalant persona and infectious wide grin will remain irreplaceable. He will always be remembered every time a child will cross his arms to his chest screaming ‘Wakanda Forever’ and his legacy will be well-kept as a catalogue of heroic figures preserved in time, to be cherished forever.
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