10 Facts About Chadwick Boseman, The Late Actor Who Had Continued to Work Despite Him Battling Cancer

Today (29 August 2020), we got to know that the Chadwick Boseman, the man who has acted as the iconic and well-loved Black Panther in the Marvel superhero movie, has passed away on 28 August 2020.

What was surprising is that no one had known he was battling cancer; he has kept his illness from the public for four years, which meant he was already fighting cancer while filming the award-winning movie.

So, other than playing the role as the king of Wakanda, what else do you know about him? Here are ten facts about this man who’s made history with a film.

The Very Basics

First off, for the uninitiated: who’s Chadwick Boseman?

The 43-year-old Avengers star was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing from  Howard University in 2000. Just like what he’s majored in, the young man then had always wanted to act and direct, and has once worked as a drama instructor.

He got his first television role in 2003 in an episode of Third Watch, and soon took on minor roles in several other television shows.

It was only in 2013 that he got his first starring role in the film 42, a movie about baseball. Three years later, he starred as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War—the first of the five-picture deal he has with Marvel.

And the rest is history.

Got Fired As a Newbie When He Voiced Concerns About Racism

In the very same year that he got his first role in television, the new actor then got another role in another soap opera All My Children.

Despite him being in the industry for less than a year, he apparently voiced concerns about racist stereotypes in the script to the producers. And guess what?

He was fired after that.

The irony is that his then role was given to Michael B. Jordan, who later co-starred with Chadwick in Black Panther.

Got the Role of Black Panther Without Audition

Any actors, aspiring or established, would know that auditions are the key to any roles.

But for the role of Black Panther, no audition was needed.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has seen him in the film Get On Up and knew that Chadwick was the right man to take the role. He said of Chadwick, “I think it was 24 hours between saying his name in a creative story meeting and talking to his agent and getting on a phone with him and offering him the role of Black Panther, which he accepted.”

He Earned $2 Million for the Film

$2 million might seem like a lot but when you compare it with other Marvel Superheroes’ paycheck, that’s…peanuts.

Even Paul Rudd, who plays Ant-Man, has earned over $41 million for his roles.

It should, however, be noted that most of the Marvel superheroes didn’t earn much in the beginning because no one knew it’d start a genre by itself.

Chadwick Has Prayed for the Role

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.”

Chadwick had always wanted to play Black Panther even before the movie was greenlit, and prayed to play the role.

When he received the call to play the role (remember: no audition needed), he said “it was surreal”, adding, “You pray for something and then it actually occurs, you almost can’t believe it. There was no way in the world I was not going to play Black Panther, I had asked for that, I wanted it, and it felt like other people wanted it for me.”

He only Does Things That He’s Inspired to Do

He’s once said in an interview that he won’t do things unless he’s inspired to do them, and believed that other artists have the same mindset.

Which could’ve explained why he has voiced his concerns in the beginning of his career and got fired for that.

He Has a Large Family

Chadwick married his long-time girlfriend singer Taylor Simone Ledward in October 2019.

But we’re not talking about this family. We’re talking about his extended family.

Chadwick said that when his grandmother died, she has left 115 grandkids and great grandkids. And that was just for one side.

However, when it comes to his life…

He’s an Extremely Private Person

The reason why we were all shocked at his death is due to his respect for his privacy.

The man is reportedly fiercely private, with him once saying this about his love life: “It’s no one’s business, really. When you talk about that, you become a whole different type of celebrity. Your personal life bleeds into your professional life. I’m an actor, and you know me from who I play. You get a sense of who I am, but you don’t know everything.”

His desire for privacy can be shown through the way he fought his illness.

Chadwick has been diagnosed with stage III colon cancer since 2016—that was when he first starred as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War.

In stage III colon cancer, the cancer cells have been spread to nearby lymph nodes, but they have not yet spread to other parts of the body. Usually, treatment includes a surgery to remove the section of the colon with the cancer (partial colectomy) along with nearby lymph nodes, followed by adjuvant chemo.

His cancer eventually progressed to stage IV before 2020, in which the cancer cells have spread from the colon to distant organs and tissues.

When he was undergoing treatment during his stage III cancer, he continued to work and completed filming for several films, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and others.

You Can Probably Tell: He Loves Sports

Other than starring as a baseball legend, the late actor loved sports, too.

He said that he has always been an athlete—basketball and baseball are his favourites.

He has also done training in martial arts before taking the role as Black Panther, and brought his knowledge of this skill to the big screen.

Black Panther 2 Was Supposed to be Released in 2022

The next Black Panther film was greenlit almost immediately after the first film was out, and development of the film has started since July 2019 ,although filming hasn’t begun. The film was initially scheduled to be released on 6 May 2022.

The fate of the film is now unknown. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel, said in a statement: “Chadwick’s passing is absolutely devastating. He was our T’Challa, our Black Panther, and our dear friend. Each time he stepped on set, he radiated charisma and joy, and each time he appeared on screen, he created something truly indelible. He embodied a lot of amazing people in his work, and nobody was better at bringing great men to life. He was as smart and kind and powerful and strong as any person he portrayed. Now he takes his place alongside them as an icon for the ages. The Marvel Studios family deeply mourns his loss, and we are grieving tonight with his family.”

Some fans are against the idea of recasting Black Panther with another actor, and would rather let the Black Panther franchise end instead.