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Rise to Fame
Boseman went to Howard University to write plays and direct, not to act. He took up performing to better understand his actors. Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013) was his first real lead, followed by James Brown in Get on Up and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall. He became Hollywood's go-to for Black historical icons before Marvel handed him Black Panther (2018). The film grossed $1.35 billion worldwide and was the first MCU entry headlined by a Black actor. By then, he'd already been secretly fighting stage III colon cancer for two years.
In the Spotlight
He was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, the same year he first played T'Challa. He told almost no one: not Ryan Coogler, not Marvel, not Disney. He filmed seven movies through chemotherapy and surgeries, showing up to demanding action productions while in treatment. The world found out about the cancer the same day it found out he was gone. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, shot during his final year, earned him a posthumous Oscar nomination. He became the first Black performer ever nominated posthumously for the award. The cancer was the context for every frame of it.
Side Notes
He fought to preserve the College of Fine Arts at Howard when it was at risk of being dismantled, and Phylicia Rashad mentored him there, raising funds from Denzel Washington to send Boseman and classmates to the British American Drama Academy at Oxford. He eventually had a scholarship named after him at Howard: Netflix and the university put up $5.4 million to cover full tuition for incoming College of Fine Arts students. The institution he once lobbied to keep alive now carries his name.
Final Chapter
His death was announced via his social media accounts on August 28, 2020, sending shockwaves through an industry that had no idea he was ill. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) did not recast T'Challa, instead opening with a tribute to Boseman. He received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in November 2025, with Viola Davis, Ryan Coogler, and his widow Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman speaking at the ceremony.