Chadwick Boseman: It’s a ‘struggle’ for black actors to be viable for stardom

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A while back, I went to see Get On Up, the James Brown bio-pic starring Chadwick Boseman. The movie had issues, mostly because James Brown was a pretty terrible person in his personal life, but Chadwick was a revelation as James Brown throughout every period of Brown’s adulthood. Chadwick managed to get the lead after his largely successful turn in 42, where he played Jackie Robinson. So, Boseman is now mainly known for two major bio-pics. What’s up with that? Why is Boseman not being offered interesting lead roles in non-bio-pic films?

When Chadwick Boseman was first approached to play James Brown in “Get On Up,” his first thought was “I definitely do not want to do another biopic.” The actor was coming off playing Jackie Robinson in “42” and was looking for something “more contemporary, maybe something that was more action oriented,” he told HuffPost Live in an interview on Monday.

But black actors are denied such opportunities, Scott Mendelson argued in a piece for Forbes.com. He wrote: “Chadwick Boseman may be being courted for every would-be biopic of every famous black historical figure around, but why is the obviously talented and painfully charismatic actor not being courted for the kind of projects that routinely end up starring the likes of Ryan Reynolds or Chris Pine?”

Boseman recognizes this reality, but doesn’t entirely agree.

“There definitely is a starring vehicle, but this is a business and a machine, to a certain degree,” he explained. “It’s all about the machine realizing that it’s a viable thing to make a black actor a star, and I think that’s a struggle.”

And while the 37-year-old regrets the ongoing challenge of securing certain parts as a black actor, he chooses not to harp on it.

“It’s always been a struggle,” he said. “I know I’m up against odds that are not necessarily as fair or the same, but I can’t focus on it.”

[From HuffPo]

I think he’s basically saying that there’s a fight to be had over the issue of diversity in Hollywood, but he’s not interested in being the face of the discussion. Which is his right. Because, let’s face it, if he came out and talked about how he wasn’t offered this part or that part because he’s black, people would label him a “troublemaker” or “rude” or “unprofessional.”

Meanwhile, it seems that Chadwick’s turn in Get On Up probably won’t get much traction for a possible Oscar campaign. That’s despite the fact that this upcoming Oscars will probably be the least diverse awards show in 20 years. Slate had an interesting piece on why Boseman should be given serious consideration for a Best Actor Oscar nomination – go here to read.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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32 Responses to “Chadwick Boseman: It’s a ‘struggle’ for black actors to be viable for stardom”

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  1. Gina says:

    I hear you and feel your pain…but just yesterday Jessica Chastain was saying Meryl Streep got all the roles for older woman. Being an actor is a crap shoot…only a few become stars. Give it time, if you truly excel at your craft, the roles will come. For whatever it’s worth Chadwick, you’re adorable looking………….

    • Lucy2 says:

      That was my first thought is well- it’s a struggle for any actor to reach “stardom”, most are lucky if they manage pay their bills with it.
      But if you aren’t the Hollywood standard- white, gorgeous, in great shape, it’s exponentially harder, and I imagine it’s a daunting feeling to face.

      • Gina says:

        The beautiful people may get roles in their youth. However, look at Meryl Streep, she has a unique look, but isn’t really cookie cutter beautiful. With a few exceptions, most of the actors that work through old age have that something something that makes them interesting, but they aren’t necessarily the pretty perky people. They grow into character actors, where the money is, especially in Indie films. Beauty lasts so long, but talent is timeless.

      • lucy2 says:

        I fully agree – talent, hardwork, and uniqueness will give a career long term success. I’m just thinking for someone trying to get their foot in the door to establish themselves, being pretty isn’t hurting most of the stars out there.

    • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

      But you can’t say that the system is stacked against non-white actors. I remember a while back, Taye Diggs said that all ‘black’ films were measured up against each other–no matter if they came from the same studio, etc–when it came time for funding…..

      • deehunny says:

        Yes, there are few “Denziel” roles out there, which aren’t just targeted to black audiences. Who gets those roles? Denziel still does.

        There simply aren’t roles built for young black actors that aren’t biopics. I also disagree with Kaiser’s parsing of Boesman’s quote. I don’t think he was saying that he doesn’t want to be the face of that, I think he just recognizes the machine.

    • MCraw says:

      Yeah, but if it’s hard for women like Jessica Chastain, how much more do you think black actors struggle? I mean, after Lupita won an OSCAR, Hollywood itself wondered aloud if she would make another movie again. That didn’t happen to Jlaw or Anne Hathaway or even Halle Berry when she won. There’s something about black actors who look a certain way who are allowed to reach a certain level because the parts just aren’t there. Black stories barely get approval and the ones that do… We get Tyler Perry. Nothing with artistry and vision on a grander scale. Spike Lee produced an all black show for HBO that got rejected because the cast was all black. Lena Dunham never heard that in her life and she has none of the clout that Spike had when she first started. This happens all the time. It’s not that “it’s hard for everybody” it’s HARDER for one group that also has a history of having it harder in every category in this country. Willful ignorance and false equivalency is not the solution.

    • OhDear says:

      Did no one pay attention when that article came out where Hollywood insiders/executives were talking about how Luptia Nyong’o – Oscar winner Luptia Nyong’o – is “too dark” to have a Hollywood career?

      And that Hollywood will cast white people for roles meant for a non-white person (see, e.g. Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily), but will almost never do the same in reverse?

    • Anna says:

      I feel like this comment must be a joke. It’s like you’ve completely ignored everything he’s said and you don’t understand the concept of racism (or institutionalized racism). The two situations you compared are not the same at all.

  2. Kaboom says:

    Newsflash: not all white actors are stars.

    • Dani2 says:

      That’s clearly not what he’s trying to say at all. White actors and actors from ethnic minority backgrounds are not on equal footing at all.

    • maëva says:

      You don’t say ! Doesn’t change the fact that most stars are white and pretty and able.

    • Kiddo says:

      But they get MOST of the work, thereby having a greater pathway to stardom.

    • HH says:

      You have neither read the piece, nor taken a meaningful look at the film industry. This is just willful ignorance. While not all white actors/actresses are stars, the point is that the path to stardom is easier than that of their black counterparts. There are certainly well-known black stars, but the amount of white stars far outweighs them.

    • shayne says:

      Newsflash: 99% of the actors who do become “stars” are white.

  3. Tiffany says:

    Someone get him a really solid TV show, stat. I will have a** in seat if he gets one. Steady gig while picking up film work. Character work has a hell of a lot more longevity instead of shooting for movie stardom.

  4. Tippy says:

    Denzel Washington and Will Smith both got their big break in television and can now not only pick and choose which film projects they want to become involved with, but also have scripts written specifically for them.

    • Kip says:

      I don’t know, I’m no expert but I kinda feel like even Denzel and Will Smith are type cast in roles in a way they wouldn’t be if they were white.

    • Gilmore says:

      True. But they got famous around the time where television was more diverse, where it wasn’t a huge surprise to see a sitcom or drama centred around black families or a black person in general. Now there are only a handful of projects on television where you can say that. It’s not as easy as it was before to pay your dues on television and then get those movie roles once it’s over. We’ve kinda gone backwards on that, I think.

  5. Chris says:

    It’s even harder for those of us who are only average looking and can’t act.

  6. Hello Catty says:

    Wow, he’s gorgeous.

  7. bkil says:

    I just want to thank celebitchy and the commenters for so openly and intelligently discussing the issue of diversity in Hollywood. I have been to many sites and all you see in the comments is vitriol and hatred when it comes to this issue. Actually, most of these celeb/hollywood focused sites don’t even broach the subject. And while there are some racist, sizeist and otherwise ignorant trolls that show up in the celebitchy comment section, those instances are few and far between compared to other sites; and when they do occur, they usually get shut down by other commenters. It’s pretty rare, awesome and uplifting. Sincerely, aspiring, tall, black, dark skinned, plus sized actress (who is also an attorney, because she’s not stupid enough to put all of her eggs in the acting basket). xoxo

  8. Guest says:

    He is a wonderful actor and writer. A talented individual. I will continue to support his career in the best way possible.

  9. Kiki says:

    I don’t think hollywood is prejudice but I think hollywood is accepting diversity but just don’t know what to do with it. I believe that people of ignorance are prejudicial against diversities and will not accept change at all.

    Who Lupita won the oscar, I will be honest, but I knew afterwards there will not give her roles because of her dark, yet gorgeous skin. But when she get roles from Star Wars, I was happy, but to tell you the truth really, I wouldn’t be surprise if they give her a supporting role and she is in the movie for a few mins. Even if her film Amerikah, her first lead will be possible, she will always be second fiddle, if some director will give her a chance to prove more of her. But I still believe she will make it.

    As for Chadwick Boseman. I will say this, like I side from above, all black actors (with the exceptions of mixed people, that includes Halle Berry) will always get second fiddle until someone give them a chance. Also, he is right, that all black actors will have meaty and serious roles to play in civil right era, slavery and bio-pics, quite frankly I am sick of all three. And I hate to say this ( even though I still think that Shondra Rimes is a romance novelist) I gave credit where is due, because she gives many black stores jobs in her successful run.

    • deehunny says:

      When people write and read scripts, most roles are not specifically created with a young black male in mind IMO. Of course it happens, certainly not the same as the Tom Cruise roles.

      I hope the next Spiderman movie starring a young male black actor will begin to open it up.