Chadwick Boseman Biography

Chadwick Aaron Boseman (born November 29, 1976) is an American actor, screenwriter, and playwright. He is best known for portraying Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013) and James Brown in Get on Up (2014). He also had roles in the television series Lincoln Heights (2008) and Persons Unknown (2010), and the films The Express (2008) and Draft Day (2014). He is set to play Black Panther in the films Captain America: Civil War, scheduled for release in 2016, and Black Panther, scheduled for 2018.

Early life

Boseman was born in Anderson, South Carolina, the son of Carolyn, a nurse, and Leroy Boseman, who owns an upholstery business. He graduated from T. L. Hanna High School in 1995 and later graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 2000 with a BFA in directing. He also graduated from the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, Oxfordshire. Boseman had wanted to write and direct, and initially began studying acting to learn how to relate to actors.

From 2002 to 2007, Boseman was the drama instructor in the Schomburg Junior Scholars Program, housed at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in 2008.

Career

Boseman landed his first television role in 2003, in an episode of Third Watch. His early work included episodes of the series Law & Order, CSI:NY, and ER. He also continued to work as a playwright, with his script for Deep Azure, performed at the Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois, nominated for a 2006 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work. In 2008 he played a recurring role on the television series Lincoln Heights and appeared in his first feature film, The Express. He landed a regular role in another television series, Persons Unknown, in 2010.

Boseman's first starring role came with the 2013 film 42, in which he played Jackie Robinson. Boseman had been directing an off-Broadway play in East Village when he auditioned for the role; he had considered giving up acting and pursuing directing full-time at the time. About 25 other actors had been seriously considered for the role, but director Brian Helgeland liked Boseman's bravery and cast him after he had auditioned twice. In 2013, Boseman also starred in the indie film The Kill Hole, which was released in theaters a few weeks before 42.

In 2014, Boseman appeared in two more films. He co-starred opposite Kevin Costner in Draft Day, in which he played an NFL draft prospect. Later that year he starred as James Brown in Get on Up, a performance that received widespread critical acclaim. Boseman starred as Thoth, a deity from Egyptian mythology, in Gods of Egypt (2016). He will also be playing the Marvel Comics character T'Challa / Black Panther in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War as part of a five picture deal with Marvel as well as a solo Black Panther film in February 2018.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
2008	The Express	Floyd Little	Gary Fleder
2013	The Kill Hole	Lt. Samuel Drake	Mischa Webley
2013	42	Jackie Robinson	Brian Helgeland
2014	Draft Day	Vontae Mack	Ivan Reitman
2014	Get on Up	James Brown	Tate Taylor
2016	Gods of Egypt	Thoth	Alex Proyas
2016	Captain America: Civil War	T'Challa / Black Panther	Anthony & Joe Russo	Post-production
2016	Message from the King	Jacob King	Fabrice Du Welz	Post-production
2016	Marshall	Thurgood Marshall	Reginald Hudlin	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Third Watch	David Wafer	Episode: "In Lieu of Johnson"
2003	All My Children	Reggie Porter Montgomery #1
2004	Law & Order	Foster Keyes	Episode: "Can I Get a Witness?"
2006	CSI: NY	Rondo	Episode: "Heroes"
2008	ER	Derek Taylor	Episode: "Oh, Brother"
2008	Cold Case	Dexter Collins	Episode: "Street Money"
2008-2009	Lincoln Heights	Nathaniel "Nate" Ray	9 episodes
2009	Lie to Me	Cabe McNeil	Episode: "Truth or Consequences"
2010	Persons Unknown	Sergeant McNair	13 episodes
2010	The Glades	Michael Richmond	Episode: "Honey"
2011	Castle	Chuck Russell	Episode: "Poof, You're Dead"
2011	Fringe	Mark Little / Cameron James	Episode: "Subject 9"
2011	Detroit 1-8-7	Tommy Westin	Episode: "Beaten/Cover Letter"
2011	Justified	Ralph "Flex" Beeman	Episode: "For Blood or Money"