The late actor Chadwick Boseman, an upstate South Carolina native best known for his iconic performance as Black Panther in various Marvel Studios films, will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced in a press release on Nov. 13.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame aims to celebrate “art, entertainment, and all things Hollywood,” according to the Chamber of Commerce. It honors luminaries in the film industry ranging from 20th-century studio stars to contemporary directors.
Boseman was born in Anderson, South Carolina, just a half-hour’s drive from Clemson. His acting career began there in the early ‘90s, when he staged his own plays in high school. He graduated from Howard University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in directing, but developed an interest in acting during his studies.
His professional career began on the stage, where he performed a variety of roles, notably as a member of the National Shakespeare Company of New York. In addition to acting, Boseman wrote and directed plays, many of which focused on celebrating Black American culture and confronting inequality and racial injustice, two themes which recur throughout his body of work.
Boseman’s film acting career began in earnest in 2013, when he played Jackie Robinson in “42.” The next year, he portrayed James Brown in “Get On Up.” Both films were well-received, with critics overwhelmingly singling out Boseman’s acting when appraising the movies.
While Boseman’s work had already garnered acclaim, his 2016 appearance in “Captain America: Civil War” and top billing in the 2018 cultural and commercial phenomenon “Black Panther” made him a bonafide star.
“Black Panther” remains one of the highest-grossing movies in history, and Boseman’s portrayal of the title character is one of the most iconic performances in the superhero genre. Boseman’s final two roles were in the 2020 films “Da 5 Bloods,” directed by legendary filmmaker Spike Lee, and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” an adaption of a play by the influential Black playwright August Wilson, who himself received a Walk of Fame star in January.
For his role in the latter film, Boseman was nominated for a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, and won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. He died of colon cancer on Aug. 28, 2020, following a diagnosis in 2016 that was kept private.
After his death, the Chadwick Boseman Foundation for the Arts was founded in his honor. The Foundation focuses on “empowering Black storytellers within the African Diaspora,” a mission in line with Boseman’s career and personal beliefs.
Boseman’s Walk of Fame star specifically recognizes his “powerful performances and enduring impact both on and off the screen,” according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
