Chadwick Boseman, the 43-year-old “Black Panther” star who died in August after a private battle with colon cancer, was posthumously awarded Golden Globe for the best performance of an actor in a drama for his role in “Ma Rainey’s black background“His wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the award on his behalf and delivered an emotional speech during the virtual competition on Sunday night.
“I would thank God. I would thank his parents. I would thank his ancestors for his guidance and sacrifices,” he said, holding back tears. “I would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice within everything that tells you you can … that tells you to keep going and that calls you to what you’re destined to do right now in history “.
Boseman was nominated in the drama category along with Riz Ahmed for “Metal Sound,” Anthony Hopkins for “The Father,” Gary Oldman for “Mank” and Tahar Rahim for “The Mauritanian.”
“Ma Rainey’s Black Background” is a Netflix movie inspired by the true story of the blues legend. And like Ma herself, the film is big, cheeky and full of music. Boseman played a character named Levee, a talented and tormented musician. While shooting the film, he was also battling colon cancer, which eventually took his life.
“I don’t have your words, but we have to dedicate all our time to celebrating those we love, so thank you HFPA for giving me the opportunity to do this. And no? You keep coming to them,” Boseman’s wife said. .
The late actor rose to fame in the lead role in the 2018 Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther“as King T’Challa superhero – and also starred in Spike Lee’s” Da 5 Bloods. “He also played black icons such as James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson.