Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman (born November 29, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get on Up (2014), Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2016, and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). He also had roles in the television series Lincoln Heights (2008) and Persons Unknown (2010), and the films The Express (2008), Draft Day (2014) and Message from the King (2016). Early life Boseman was born in South Carolina, and raised in the city of Anderson. Boseman graduated from T. L. Hanna High School in 1995 and from Howard University in Washington, DC, in 2000 with a bachelor of fine arts in directing. He also graduated from the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. Boseman had wanted to write and direct, and initially began studying acting to learn how to relate to actors. He went on to graduate from New York City's Digital Film Academy. 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 got 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. In 2016, he starred as Thoth, a deity from Egyptian mythology, in Gods of Egypt. He started playing the Marvel Comics character T'Challa / Black Panther in 2016, with Captain America: Civil War being the first film in a five-picture deal with Marvel. He then starred in a solo Black Panther film in 2018, and will reprise the role in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).