The powerful actor, who died Friday at 43, did much of his best work after his undisclosed diagnosis of Stage III colon cancer.
Set aside for a moment Chadwick Boseman’s groundbreaking, historic portrayal of T’Challa/Black Panther and consider the incredible versatility he showed in a trilogy of period-piece biopics across a four-year period, becoming Jackie Robinson in “42” (2013), James Brown in “Get on Up” (2014) and a young lawyer who would become the first Black Supreme Court justice in “Marshall” (2017). Big screen, big-time star performances, one and all. Boseman disappeared into three very different characters who left indelible impressions on the American landscape in the 20th century and beyond. We believed Boseman as Jackie Robinson in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, playing his Hall of Fame-level game with grace and fire while enduring grotesquely ugly racism from opposing fans, opponents and even some teammates. We believed Boseman performing James Brown’s signature moves and capturing Brown’s destructive madness in “Get on Up.” We believed Boseman as the confident and talented and dedicated young Thurgood Marshall circa 1940 — an NAACP lawyer defending persons of color wrongly accused of crimes, telling one clients’ family, “We’ve got weapons we didn’t have before. We’ve got the law.” He created fully realized, authentic characterizations without indulging in impersonation. Boseman could also command the screen in a crusading antihero cop role, as he did in “21 Bridges,” and in a supporting performance, as evidenced by his dynamic and pivotal work in “Da 5 Bloods.” Perhaps because he was such a force as a dramatic actor, there isn’t a whole lot of comedy on his resume, but let’s not forget how he could deftly handle moments of light comedy in the Marvel movies, not to mention his flat-out hilarious turn as T’Challa playing “Black Jeopardy” on “Saturday Night Live,” who figures out the correct response when the setup is, “Your Friend Karen Brings HER Potato Salad to YOUR Cookout.
