Chadwick Boseman Could Make History This Awards Season
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which stars Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, hits Netflix on December 18 and is the last film starring the now deceased actor. Early positive buzz around the film and the cast, particularly Davis and Boseman’s portrayals, have propelled both actors for possibly contention for additional accolades during awards season, according to Entertainment Weekly.
In addition, there is chatter around Boseman for his role in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods. If he receives nominations for both roles, he will be the first person to posthumously be nominated for two acting awards in one year.
In the summer of 2019, one year before Boseman died after a four year battle with colon cancer, the actor filmed what would become his final role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, with Davis who plays Ma Rainey.
Actress Taylour Paige, who also stars in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, told Elle in the latest issue that she had no idea about Boseman’s illness during filming and for that alone, he deserves an honor.
"I didn’t know he was sick. People are going to be stunned by his performance [in Ma Rainey], but now I feel he should win an Oscar just for acting like he was OK," said Paige.
Directed by George C. Wolfe, the film is an adaptation of the 1982 August Wilson play about the legendary blues singer from Chicago. Boseman plays an ambitious trumpeter named Levee. The film takes us back to 1927 as we follow Rainey and a group of musicians working through a Chicago recording session. Known as the “Mother of the Blues,” Rainey was one of the first blues artists to record her work.
Watch the trailer below:
