Chadwick Aaron Boseman (November 29, 1976 – August 28, 2020) was an American actor and playwright. Through his two-decade career, he appeared in a number of projects spanning both blockbuster and independent films, and received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award.
Born in South Carolina, Boseman studied directing at Howard University and began his career in theatre. Boseman won a Drama League Directing Fellowship and an acting AUDELCO, along with receiving a Jeff Award nomination for his 2005 play Deep Azure. Transitioning to the screen, his first major role was as a series regular on the NBC drama Persons Unknown (2010) and he landed his breakthrough role as baseball player Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013). He continued to portray historical figures, starring as singer James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and as Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017).
Boseman achieved international fame for playing the Marvel Comics superhero T'Challa (Black Panther) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from 2016 to 2019.