A career in three acts: The movies that define Chadwick Boseman

Posted On May 11, 2025May 11, 2025

When Chadwick Boseman died on August 28th, 2020, the world responded with a mixture of emotions. Shock was the prevailing one, given that he was only 43 years old and had kept his colon cancer a secret for around four years, but there was also the usual sadness and a massive sense of loss at what might have been. 

It felt as if Boseman was very much in his prime. He had only risen to global attention a few years previously, and it seemed like he had much more to give. Sadly, we will never know if that was the case.

What we can do is celebrate a man who, in his relatively brief time on this Earth, left a major impression on pop culture. For a generation of moviegoers, he is defined by one role, but there is more to the man’s career than vibranium suits and that famous two-word mantra.

This is going to be a much shorter retrospective than usual, spanning just seven years, but in that time, you will see just how far Boseman climbed the ladder of success, and how much further he could have gone had fate not cruelly intervened.

Chadwick Boseman’s career in three acts

’42’ – Brian Helgeland (2013)

Beginning his acting career on the stage, Boseman first made a splash onscreen with his work on the TV show Persons Unknown. It wasn’t until 2013 that cinema audiences got well-acquainted with him, as this was when he starred as legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson in Brian Helgeland’s 42.

The first Black man to play in the modern era of Major League Baseball, Robinson is one of the great symbols of the civil rights movement in sport. While the movie itself was labelled pedestrian, Boseman’s performance was anything but. It takes a big personality to portray someone as important as Robinson, and he had everything it took to bring the iconic second baseman to life.

Hence, when Boseman died, a number of MLB teams commemorated his passing. Five years on, Helgeland penned a touching tribute to both him and Robinson for Vanity Fair. Boseman could have just been associated with Robinson forever following this film, but another career-defining role was just around the corner…

‘Black Panther’ – Ryan Coogler (2018)

Before all you Marvel geeks get on our case, yes, Boseman debuted as T’Challa/Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War. Happy now? It says a lot that his appearance in that movie outshone the MCU debut of Spider-Man, but it wouldn’t be until 2018 that the King of Wakanda really got to show what he was made of.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, who recently spoke of his grief surrounding Boseman’s death, Black Panther was nothing short of a phenomenon. Not only was it the first MCU movie to be helmed by a Black actor, but it also became the highest-grossing movie of all time by a Black filmmaker, as well as the first superhero film to be nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars.

The cultural impact of Black Panther cannot be understated. This wasn’t just a superhero movie with a majority Black cast, but it was a well-made, deftly-handled movie about race that just so happened to feature kick-ass fight sequences. Boseman was now a hero to an entire generation of people of all races—and he always will be.

‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ – George C Wolfe (2020) 

2020 should have been the biggest year of Boseman’s career. Not only did he appear in Spike Lee’s excellent Da 5 Bloods, but he also had a starring role in another of the year’s most acclaimed pictures—Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

Featuring his Get On Up co-star, Viola Davis, as the titular blues singer, the film cast Boseman as Levee Green, the hot-headed trumpeter in Rainey’s band. For his outstanding performance, he won a Golden Globe and was a frontrunner for ‘Best Actor’ at the Oscars, which led to a slightly awkward moment when Anthony Hopkins won the award for The Father instead.

Sadly, Boseman didn’t live to see Ma Rainey’s success. He died three months before its release, with all the praise he received for his performance being posthumous. Bar the use of archival footage in the Black Panther sequel, this marks Boseman’s final film. Ending your career with one of your best ever performances is something few actors can only dream of—a fitting end for a superstar taken way too soon.

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