Boseman won a Drama League Directing Fellowship and an acting AUDELCO, along with receiving a Jeff Award nomination for his 2005 play Deep Azure.

[24] While at Howard, he worked in an African American–oriented bookstore near the university, which friend Vanessa German said was important and inspirational to him;[15] he drew on his experience there for his play Hieroglyphic Graffiti.

[27] He attended the program in 1998, and he developed an appreciation for the playwriting of William Shakespeare;[15] additionally, he studied the works of various dramatists, including Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.

[25] He also traveled to Africa for the first time while at college, working in Ghana with his professor Mike Malone "to preserve and celebrate rituals with performances on a proscenium stage"; he said it was "one of the most significant learning experiences of [his] life".

[6][33] He rose to prominence as a playwright and stage actor in 2002, performing in multiple productions and winning an AUDELCO award in 2002 for his part in Ron Milner's Urban Transitions.

[34] He directed and wrote plays[35][36] as part of the Hip-hop theater movement; his works included Rhyme Deferred (co-written with Howard classmate Kamilah Forbes), in which he also performed, and Hieroglyphic Graffiti.

[42] He was fired from All My Children after voicing concerns to producers about racist stereotypes in the script; the role was subsequently re-cast, with Boseman's future Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan taking the part.

[26] He was cast in a recurring role on the television series Lincoln Heights as Nathaniel Ray Taylor, an army veteran with PTSD who was later revealed to be the son of the main character before re-enlisting.

[57] About twenty-five other actors had been seriously considered for the role, but director Brian Helgeland liked Boseman's bravery in choosing to read the most difficult scene, in which Robinson goes down a stadium tunnel and breaks a bat in anger, and cast him after he had auditioned twice.

[26] His performance was praised as the highlight of a generally well received movie, with the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reading: "With an unforgettable Chadwick Boseman in the starring role, Get On Up offers the Godfather of Soul a fittingly dynamic homage.

"[70] Among the critics was Time's Richard Corliss (hyperbolically)[71] saying that Boseman "deserves a Pulitzer, a Nobel and instant election to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"[73] Boseman had sold a thriller screenplay to Universal Pictures in 2014, which he continued to collaborate on with creative partner Logan Coles and planned to star in, and told The Guardian that he still wanted to be a director but would explore his acting career first, adding that "maybe it'll be easier if you're a successful actor".

[109][110] However, Vulture criticized his casting, noting that, unlike Boseman, "the real-life Marshall was a light-skinned man, and his place on the color spectrum undoubtedly influenced how he became such a legend.

[112] As an actor, Boseman developed his character by going on calls with the NYPD and LAPD,[116] which he said influenced the writing after he fed back his experiences, and learning how to fire blanks and handle a gun with a police weapons specialist.

Club's Ashley Ray-Harris felt the lack of digital de-aging for the other characters was unsuccessful in its aims and that "Lee's script doesn't give Boseman much to do outside of this confused, Christ-like characterization and never exposes Norman's own naïveté.

"[138] Charlotte O'Sullivan of the Evening Standard said Boseman was brave to take on a "more curdled" role than the heroic leaders he is best known for, and that "as skilful as he was talented, [he] hits the right notes, all the time.

[141][142] According to film critic Owen Gleiberman of Variety, "Boseman was a virtuoso actor who had the rare ability to create a character from the outside in and the inside out [and he] knew how to fuse with a role, etching it in three dimensions [...] That's what made him an artist, and a movie star, too.

[17] Peter Bradshaw wrote of the actor's "beauty, his grace, his style, his presence [...] These made up Chadwick Boseman's persona [and he became] the lost prince of American cinema[,] glorious and inspirational".

[146] Culture writer Steve Rose, in The Guardian, said that Boseman's career was revolutionary and he "leaves behind a gamechanging legacy", attributing this to the actor's careful planning and selection of roles.

"[17] Rhea Combs, film curator of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, said that with his screen presence, Boseman "was not only a conduit to the past and the way African-Americans persevered and pushed through so many challenges, he also represented brightness and the promise of tomorrow".

[161][159] In politics, Boseman supported the When We All Vote campaign,[citation needed] and his last tweet before his death was congratulating Kamala Harris on her selection as Joe Biden's vice-presidential nominee.

[162] Prior to the 2018 midterm elections, Boseman urged Twitter followers to visit VoteRiders online or call the organization's helpline to ensure eligible voters had the ID needed to cast a ballot.

[7] He never spoke publicly about his cancer diagnosis, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, "Only a handful of non-family members knew that Boseman was sick... with varying degrees of knowledge about the severity of [his] condition.

"[164] During treatment, involving multiple surgeries and chemotherapy, he continued to work and completed production for several films, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, Ma Rainey, and others.

[172] Many fellow actors and other celebrities paid tribute to Boseman on social media following the announcement of his death, including a number of his Marvel Cinematic Universe co-stars.

[175] His alma mater, Howard University, tweeted in reaction that "his incredible talent will forever be immortalized through his characters and through his own personal journey from student to superhero".

[181][182] Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the franchise for which Jackie Robinson played when the team was at its former home of Brooklyn, New York, issued statements honoring Boseman, in light of his acclaimed portrayal of the player.

[185][186] Prior to the fifth game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA playoffs, Boseman was honored with a moment of silence, alongside Cliff Robinson and Lute Olson.

[187] When Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position in qualifying at the 2020 Belgian Grand Prix, he dedicated his lap to Boseman, as well as his race win the following day.

[189] Henry McMaster, the Governor of South Carolina, ordered the Statehouse flags be lowered to half-staff on August 30 in honor of Boseman, who was born and raised in the state.