Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman on why Robert Downey Jr deserves an Oscar
Chadwick Boseman became a global superstar playing Black Panther and formed a fast friendship with Robert Downey Jr, and says his “man” deserves an Oscar nomination, but not just for Avengers.
Entertainment
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Chadwick Boseman so perfectly fits the part of King T’Challa of Wakanda – aka Black Panther – that it’s hard to picture anyone else playing it.
The regal poise, the imposing figure, the warrior fighting skills and the commanding voice all combined to make him a firm fan favourite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the moment he made his debut in Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
He’s since returned to the role a further three times – in a solo outing that became a cultural touchstone and the first superhero film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, as well as the cinema juggernauts Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, the last of which this year became the highest grossing film of all time with an astonishing $4.1 billion at the box office.
With all that in mind, seeing Boseman in his new cop thriller 21 Bridges, and listening to his voice over the phone from LA to promote it is slightly shocking.
He’s slimmed down dramatically from his Marvel fighting weight and his natural South Carolina drawl is a world away from the gravitas of his fictional African-accented ruler.
He’ll need to stack on nearly 15kg of muscle when he reprises the role for Black Panther II, which is currently being written and due for release in 2022, but for now he’s still getting his head around Endgame’s record-breaking reception.
“Obviously all of us are ecstatic about that achievement and it’s not to be taken lightly at all because it’s hard to make successful films and you have to celebrate them when it happens,” he says.
But as to whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has traditionally been rather dismissive of superhero movies, will embrace Endgame and co-star Robert Downey Jr’s bittersweet swan song as Iron Man with Oscar nominations, he’s not so sure.
“I don’t know – I hope so,” he says.
“He definitely gave a beautiful performance so if that were to happen I would say he’s deserving it and also deserves it for the breadth of his entire career. That’s my man. I love him.”
21 Bridges, which is co-produced by Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo, is a stark contrast to the fantastical world of Wakanda and the CGI driven heroics of the MCU.
A gritty, cop drama with Boseman’s Detective Andre Davis attempting to lock down New York City to prevent two violent criminals escaping is set over a single evening, and shot on location in the Big Apple with not a green screen in sight.
Having made his career with a trio of well received biopics – 42 (as trailblazing baseball player Jackie Robinson), Get On Up (volatile Godfather of Soul, James Brown) and Marshall (Thurgood Marshall, who became the first African-American US Supreme Court Justice) – Boseman relishes the chance to mix things up a bit.
“You just want versatility in your career,” he says. “I love Black Panther and I love Marvel, but this is an opportunity to do something different. Obviously I have done many other things that are different but coming from those movies it was a breath of fresh air to shoot this movie.”
Boseman, who also produced 21 Bridges, put in some serious research into the world of law enforcement, with the help of a couple of former detectives who were always on set.
He picked up procedural tips from doing ride-alongs with real cops, and undertook weapons and tactical training on the correct way to enter buildings, apprehend felons and not contaminate crime scenes.
But he admits to being genuinely shocked by what he saw in real police stations when investigating the hi-tech surveillance technology so crucial to tracking the criminals in the film.
“If you want to do a crime in New York, don’t do it outside because there are cameras everywhere,” Boseman says with laugh.
“I got a chance to see what that eye in the sky is and some of the stuff that you see is horrific, actually. There were things that they showed me on camera that I was like ‘oh my God – is it OK for you to be showing me this?’.”
Boseman’s character in the film has a reputation for being tough but trigger happy, which he acknowledges is a sensitive subject, particularly given recent high-profile cases of police shootings in his homeland, particularly of black youths.
In the end, however, he was more interested in examining the extreme pressures that police are under that lead to difficult decisions, some of which can end in tragedy.
“I feel like you shouldn’t run from these issues because, there are a lot of people who do this profession and they put their heart and soul into it and they try to be the best person they can be while they do it,” he says.
“So it’s great to play the role – I wouldn’t shy away from playing it because of those issues. It’s better actually to try to show a cop who has principals or has a code. It is better to see that because I do think it exists. But I also know that the other thing exists as well.”
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Boseman, who was raised a Christian and considers Denzel Washington a mentor, says his own code was drilled into him by his parents from a young age.
His mother was a nurse and his father a former cotton factory worker who raised him to work hard and never rest on his laurels.
“I think always digging for your best would be the best thing that he taught me,” he says of his father, Leroy.
“What you did last time was never enough for him. If I am doing something and it’s not a challenge then I will question why I am putting this much time into it. It feels like I am cheating in some sort of a way.”
21 Bridges opens tomorrow.