Chadwick Boseman earns posthumous best actor Oscar nomination

Chadwick Boseman was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award for best actor in a leading role for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” on Monday morning. The late actor won a Golden Globe for best actor in a drama motion picture for the role last month. 

Boseman plays talented and tormented trumpet phenomenon Levee Green in the Netflix film inspired by the life of legend Ma Rainey, a blues singer popular in the 1920s. The beloved “Black Panther” star died during postproduction of the film last year. 

It marks Boseman’s first and only Oscar nomination. Other actors nominated in the same category include Riz Ahmed for “Sound of Metal,” Anthony Hopkins for “The Father,” Gary Oldman for “Mank” and Steven Yeun for “Minari.” 

Boseman died August 28, 2020 of colon cancer at the age of 43. He kept his cancer struggle private, and his death sent shockwaves around the world.

Bringing “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” to the sc… 08:18

“He would thank God,” said Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, holding back tears, while accepting the Golden Globe award on his behalf. “He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices. He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you, ‘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.”

Boseman is the seventh actor to earn a posthumous nomination. The others were James Dean, Spencer Tracy, Peter Finch — the only posthumous acting winner so far — Ralph Richardson, Massimo Troisi and Heath Ledger. 

The late actor came to fame in the title role of 2018’s Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther” as superhero King T’Challa — and also starred in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.” He also played Black icons such as James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson.

The Oscars will be held Sunday, April 25, the academy announced in June. Because of the pandemic, the academy allowed films that debuted on streaming services to qualify for nominations this year.