Recently, the world lost one of the greatest actors of our time, Chadwick Boseman . For the past four years, Chadwick silently battled with colon cancer. All of us are beyond shocked and incredibly saddened.
As a way to pay homage to our dearly departed King of Wakanda , I’ve put together a list of 10+ facts about Chadwick Boseman that fans didn’t know. RIP T’Challa, you will never be forgotten.
1. Chadwick began his career on the soap opera *All My Children*.
But he was fired after only one week! As Chadwick told IndieWire, he felt the character of Reggie played too much on racial stereotypes .
Ironically, the role ended up going to Michael B. Jordan — who played Killmonger in Black Panther .
2. His breakout role was on the TV series *Lincoln Heights*.
Lincoln Heights was a cop drama about a family who moves into a crime-ridden area and attempts to help the people living within the community — including criminals.
Chadwick played a character by the name of Nathaniel Ray.
3. Chadwick’s biopic prowess put him on the map.
Chadwick’s breakthrough film role was portraying Jackie Robinson in the film 42 . Jackie Robinson was the man responsible for breaking the color barrier in baseball.
Ironically, Chadwick passed away on Jackie Robinson Day .
4. He was a director long before he ever became an actor.
Chadwick studied at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Directing.
Upon his graduation, Chadwick was then accepted into the British American Drama Academy.
5. Chadwick’s first calling was the stage!
In his early years, Chadwick appeared in a number of different stage productions, including “Romeo and Juliet” and “Urban Transitions: Loose Bottoms.”
The latter of which Chadwick received an AUDELCO Award for.
6. He was a big fan of bad reality TV.
Chadwick explained to The Breakfast Club crew that sometimes he likes to unwind in front of a mindless TV program.
He didn’t go as far as to list any by name, but he was quick to point out his fondness for VH1 and Bravo.
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7. Chadwick did his homework for *Black Panther*.
During an appearance on The Breakfast Club , Charlamagne asked Chadwick what, if any, Black Panther research he absorbed before filming began.
Chadwick’s reply was “I tried to read all of it.”
8. He fought for his accent in *Black Panther*.
Before filming began, Chadwick was presented with two options: keep his American accent or take on a British one.
Chadwick felt that either option implied that Wakanda had been colonized . He worked with a dialect coach to produce his accent in the film, which is based in the Xhosa language.
9. Yes, he’s googled himself.
The first time Chadwick tried to look himself up online was right after he shot The Express: The Ernie Davis Story . He’d originally tried to find his IMDb page and was dismayed to learn he didn’t have one!
10. Chadwick was a prominent figure in the hip-hop theater scene.
So much so that Chadwick wrote and directed a number of plays! his most well-known was called ” Deep Azure “.
It even earned him a Jeff Award nomination in 2006 for Best Play.
11. He once had an incredibly hilarious fan encounter in an airport.
As Chadwick explained, the woman was a fan of James Brown and Chadwick’s performance in the biopic Get On Up .
So much so, that she ended up challenging him to a dance-off !
12. Chadwick owes a lot to Denzel Washington.
While making an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon , Chadwick told the story of how he did an exchange study at Oxford University. At the time, Chadwick couldn’t afford the costs.
So Denzel Washington paid his way!
13. He had a beautiful voice.
Chadwick didn’t just get tapped to play James Brown because of his acting ability. The man could belt out a tune with the best of them.
Listen to his own rendition of a song called ” Grandma’s Hands .”
14. His first memory trying on the *Black Panther* suit isn’t a happy one.
According to Chadwick, it was in the middle of summer and he was in Atlanta . It took three different people working together to help him put on the suit because it was so tight and he was sweating so much.
Shortly thereafter, things went from bad to worse.
Once the mask was fastened to his face, Chadwick couldn’t breathe!
His air supply was cut off at the neck, all the way down to his boots.
It didn’t take long before Chadwick became incredibly claustrophobic and began suffocating!
