The Hollywood Reporter has shared a moving tribute from Chadwick Boseman's longtime agent Michael Greene. In that, he reflects on the actor's brief, but memorable and impactful, career, recalling what being a Black man in Hollywood meant to the Captain America: Civil War star.
Recalling what happened after Boseman was cast as Black Panther, Green explains that once the actor was hired, "he [told them], 'I will only do this with an African accent.' They were like, 'Well, no, we want it to be South African.' He said, 'I’m a king of Africa. I’m going with the customs that we fought and fought and fought for.' He was like, 'I’m going to make sure that everything is accurate, that we’re telling the story a certain way.'"
On the set of Black Panther, Boseman and Ryan Coogler would frequently discuss what they were shooting meant to the African culture, and when Marvel Studios very nearly decided not to do the waterfall soon, Boseman fought for it and told them, "'This is historical and the people need to be dancing with African music.'"
The role meant so much to the actor that he turned down a hugely profitable branding opportunity with a liquor company because, as he told his agent, "'I can’t, because how can I show young Black kids and kids of color that they can be superheroes, [then do this]?"
There's much more to this tribute which we definitely suggest you go and check out as it's clear that Boseman was never willing to compromise who he was, especially when it came to how a Black man should be portrayed on screen. Needless to say, he was quite clearly an amazing, inspiring man.
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