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Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the majestic Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, died on Friday (Saturday NZT) of cancer, his representative said. He was 43 years old.
Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante said. The Associated Press.
Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement.
Richard Shotwell / AP
Chadwick Boseman died after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
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Born in South Carolina, Boseman graduated from Howard University and had small television roles before his first turn as a star in 2013. His surprising portrayal of stoic baseball star Robinson opposite Harrison Ford in 2013 42 He caught the eye in Hollywood and made him a star
Boseman died one day when Major League Baseball was celebrating Jackie Robinson’s Day.
“This is a crushing blow,” actor and director Jordan Peele said on Twitter, one of many who expressed shock when the news spread on social media.
“This broke me,” said actor and writer Issa Rae.
His T’Challa character was first introduced in the blockbuster Marvel movies in 2016. Captain America: Civil War, and his greeting “Wakanda Forever” resonated around the world after the release of Black Panther two years ago.
MARVEL STUDIOS
Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther character paved the way for more diverse superheroes on screen.
The character was last seen standing silently dressed in a black suit at Tony Stark’s funeral last year. Avengers Endgame.
Even early in his Hollywood career, Boseman was clear-eyed, and even skeptical, of the industry in which he would become an international star.
“You don’t have exactly the same experience as a black actor as you do as a white actor. You don’t have the same opportunities. That is evident and true, ” he told AP while promoting 42.
“The best way to put it is: How often do you watch a movie about a black hero who has a love affair, with a black woman, or any woman for that matter … he has a spirituality? Has intellect. It’s weird to say, but it doesn’t happen that often. ”
In addition to Robinson and Brown, Boseman played US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 2017 Marshall.
He took on his first job as a producer on last year’s action thriller. 21 bridges, in which he also starred, and was last seen on screen in the Spike Lee film Give 5 Bloods as the leader of a group of black soldiers in the Vietnam War.
NETFLIX
Chadwick Boseman most recently starred in Netflix’s Da 5 Bloods.
