30 Little Known Things Every Black Panther Fan Should Know About Chadwick Boseman

23 March 2019, 10:24 am EDT By Ruby Karnick

Chadwick Boseman gained worldwide popularity and a humungous fan following with his portrayal of the superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Prior to MCU movies, he was famous for portrayals of real-life historical figures like Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. Here are some really fascinating things to know about the American actor:

In preparation for his role as Jackie Robinson in the movie "42," he reportedly underwent weeks of intense baseball training. However, in certain scenes, he had to take Jasha Balcom, a former minor league player, as his stuntman.
Initially, he refused to accept the role of Vontae Mack in the movie "Draft Day," as he was not sure, if he wants to play another sports movie, immediately after his successful movie of "42," in which he portrayed Jackie Robinson.
He, with his martial arts background, claims that he knew what he was in for, when he and his co-stars from the movie "Black Panther," had to attend a "boot camp," in an effort to prepare them for the physical aspects of their role.
He, as a playwright, had his script "Deep Azure," perform at the Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois. The play was also nominated for a 2006 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work.
Chadwick Aaron Boseman was born on November 29, 1977 to Leroy Boseman and Caroyln, both African American, in Anderson, South California.
His father, while maintaining an upholstery business, worked at a textile factory, while his mother was a nurse. His DNA testing has indicated that his ancestors were Krio people from Sierra Leone, Yoruba people from Nigeria and Limba people from Sierra Leone.
However, after a Skype call with the movie's director Ivan Reitman, he agreed to portray the character of Vontae Mack, an NFL draft prospect in "Draft Day," opposite Kevin Costner.
He almost lost his most famous role as T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to Chad L. Coleman, who was first considered for the role. Coleman is world renowned for his performance on the HBO show "The Wire."
For his role as James Brown in the movie "Get on Up," he underwent 2 months of several training on how to sing and dance properly, and he reportedly did all his own dancing in the movie.
It is reported that, initially Ava DuVernay was roped in to direct the "Black Panther" movie, but after the actual meeting with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige and Boseman, the idea was dropped, as their visions of the movie did not come together.

After being cast in the "Captain America: Civil War," as the superhero Black Panther, he reportedly read as many comics as possible for anything Black Panther-related, though he has never been a big reader of comics, even as a kid.
During the filming of the movie "42," he and his co-star Alan Tudyk had deliberately avoided fraternizing while shooting their scenes together, in an effort to better convey the animosity between their characters - Jackie Robinson and Ben Chapman, respectively.
His movie "Get on Up," which has been in development since 2000, was met with positive reviews from critics, and most of the praise mainly going to Boseman's performance, with Rotten Tomatoes claiming it to "be a fittingly dynamic homage."
For his role as T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther in "Captain America: Civil War," he reportedly underwent a vigorous training program, in an effort to get in the required fighting shape for the character.
His first play was "Crossroads," which he wrote in his junior year in T. L. Hanna High School. He staged the play at his school, following a misfortune in which his classmate was shot and killed.
His performance as Thurgood Marshall in the movie "Marshall" was praised by Rolling Stones's Peter Travers saying "Charged by Boseman's dramatic lightning, Marshall gives us an electrifying glimpse of a great man in the making," while rating the movie 3 stars out of 4.
He is all set to play as one among a group of veterans from the Vietnam War, who return to the jungle, in the upcoming movie "Da 5 Bloods," scheduled for a release in late 2019 or early 2020.
Wesley Snipes, one of the most prominent actors, who is famous for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, had always wanted to be the Black Panther and had approached Marvel since the 1990s. Now, though he wasn't a part of the final project of "Black Panther," he gave his full support to Boseman and claimed Boseman's interpretation to be "1,000 percent".
He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing from the Howard University in Washington, D.C., in the year 2000, before joining the Oxford Mid-Summer Program of the British American Drama Academy in London. He then graduated from New York City's Digital Film Academy.
For his role as T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther, the ruler of the fictional nation Wakanda, in the movie "Captain America: Civil War," he said that he recycled the Xhosa accent he learned for his character of Jacob King, for the movie "Message from the King," which he was working on, simultaneously.

He also reportedly learned a few tips for speaking in Xhosa, from the celebrated South African actor John Kani, who portrays King T'Chaka, his father in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. John Kani reportedly used his native accent for his scenes in the "Captain America: Civil War" movie.
For studying at the Oxford Mid-Summer Program of the British American Drama Academy in London, his teacher Phylicia Rashad, who later became a mentor, raised funds for him and a few of his friends. It is reported that Denzel Washington paid for Boseman's tuition at Oxford University.
His role as Black Panther, earned him the Best Hero Award at the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards. During the award ceremony, he invited James Shaw Jr., who subdued a gunman at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. He is dubbed the Waffle House Hero by the media, as he prevented the gunman, who had already killed four people, from hurting any other people. Boseman called James up to the stage and gave him the award as he felt that he deserved it more.
He will be playing the lead role of Andre Davis, a disgraced NYPD detective, who is thrust into massive conspiracy and a citywide manhunt for a cop killer, in the movie "17 Bridges," scheduled for a release on July 12, 2019.
He, in an interview stated that, the production of "Avengers: Infinity War," started just two weeks after the production of "Black Panther" ended, which made it easy for all the actors, actresses, and extras in retaining their cadences.
Before becoming an actor, he reportedly worked as the drama instructor in the Schomburg Junior Scholars Program, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York.
He first started his career as a writer and a director, before turning to become an actor. He claims that he started acting, as a means to know how to connect with the actors, and that he never addresses himself as an actor to anyone.
In the sets of "Black Panther," whenever Dorothy Steel, who played the role of Merchant Tribe Elder, was filming her scenes, she was treated with great respect being 91 years old. She was more like the resident grandmother, and Boseman is often known to give her a hug.
While being cast in his first starring role of Jackie Robinson, in the movie "42," he was directing an off-Broadway play in East Village. He, for a brief period, contemplated giving up acting and pursuing directing full-time. After considering 25 other actors, director Brian Helgeland liked Boseman's bravery and cast him following his second audition.
He, once in an interview, claimed that though not a fan of comics, he used to pray to be the Black Panther, well before he was cast as the same character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.