RIP Chadwick Boseman .
Gone way, way too soon. That all-too rare leading man: someone with serious acting chops to match that simmering slow-burn charisma.
I discovered him, I suppose, with the rest of the world with his seemingly out-of-nowhere leading-man hello-world performance as #JackieRobinson, and man, did he hit the ground running. 13 movies in 7 years - he clearly was a man on a mission! The biographical figures came fast and furious: #JamesBrown, #ThurgoodMarshall.
And then, of course, the role that launched him into the stratosphere: #TChalla…
In that whirling, eye-popping movie populated with all manner of larger-than-life screen-burning actors and characters, he was the cool, studly, calm at the center of it all, giving the audience that much-needed emotional through-line.
Usually, these "overnight" success are either industry-mandated "manufactured" stars…or they're the kind of actors who've been there for a while, toiling away, honing their craft, ready and willing to walk through the door when opportunity knocked. And Boseman, he had put in the hard yards (including #LawAndOrder, because, of course he did!), and he *burst* through that door when the time came, and never looked back.
Sad, there was *so* much that he would've been capable of, especially if/when he was allowed to stretch himself as he so memorably did in the terrific Get on Up or the awesomely-down-and-dirty Message from the King…Chadwick unleashed was a truly remarkable sight to see!
It's small comfort, I suppose, that his legacy is secured, and his performances will be there for generations to come, and how lucky that while we mourn the what-could've-been, we can also celebrate the what-was.
Rest in peace…
- - -
Get on Up (2014)
Message from the King (2016)
Black Panther (2018)
Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Marshall (2017)
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
42 (2013)
21 Bridges (2019)
Draft Day (2014)
Gods of Egypt (2016)
The Kill Hole (2012)
Wakanda
Wakanda Forever
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