The late Chadwick Boseman was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for this year’s Golden Globes. This recognition was for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Fans praised his posthumous nomination, saying that it was well-deserved and earned.
In August 2020, the actor passed away as a result of complications related to colon cancer. It was a sorrowful moment for his fans, family and costars — many of which made public statements about Boseman’s lasting legacy and genuine kindness.
Golden Globes result
Boseman was gifted with the award which was humbly accepted by his wife Taylor Simone Ledward. She said, “He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices.” She continued on, thanking his “incredible team” on his behalf.
She gave a tearful speech, saying, “He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells us you can, that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history.”
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Netflix’s biographical drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was one of Boseman’s last roles, the other one is expected to be a voice role in the upcoming Marvel series What If…? In this movie, he played Levee Green opposite Viola Davis’s Ma Rainey.
Netflix’s synopsis for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom reads, “Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey.” It is based on a play with the same name, by August Wilson.
Levee is more of an antagonistic character and is described as an “ambitious cornet player who has an eye for Ma’s girlfriend and is determined to stake his own claim on the music industry.”
The movie is directed by George C. Wolfe (Broadway’s Angels in America) and produced by Denzel Washington.
During the time of the movie’s release, Wolfe praised Boseman’s work saying, “Our last week of filming was incredibly intense, especially for Chadwick Boseman. His character Levee had a series of scenes which were as physically demanding as they were emotionally raw.”
He added, “The work was Herculean, the stakes incredibly high, and day after day, take after take, Chadwick more than delivered. His work was brilliant.”
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is currently streaming on Netflix.