Chadwick Boseman's life and legacy to be celebrated in Netflix special Portrait of an Artist

Chadwick Boseman's life and career is set to be celebrated in a new star-studded Netflix special, Portrait of an Artist.

The documentary will offer an intimate look at Boseman's singular artistry, and the process that informed his transformative performances in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Black Panther, Da 5 Bloods and more.

The Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning actor died in August 2020 at the age of 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

The Netflix special participants delivering behind-the-scenes insights into Boseman’s craft, and his commitment as an artist, include his co-stars Viola Davis, Glynn Turman and Taylour Paige, along with director George C. Wolfe and composer, arranger and music producer Branford Marsalis.

Others set to feature are Da 5 Bloods filmmaker Spike Lee, Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira, actor and Black Panther dialect coach Andile Nebulane, Get on Up and Black Panther choreographer Aakomon “AJ” Jones, Get on Up director Tate Taylor, 42 director Brian Helgeland, Marshall director Reginald Hudlin and Howard University Professor Phylicia Rashad.

Boseman received a posthumous Oscar nomination this year for his turn in Netflix drama, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He also starred last year in Spike Lee’s Vietnam War flick, Da 5 Bloods.

A trailer for Portrait of an Artist featured Boseman’s collaborators and close friends.

"I’m Chadwick Boseman," the late actor says in the teaser trailer. "I am an artist. People call me an actor, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an actor, I would call myself an artist."

Viola Davis remarks that, "You know you have to step up when you’re in his presence", while Da 5 Bloods director Spike Lee says, "he just had this weight, this aura".

The streaming giant is home to Boseman's final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, for which he is widely tipped to win the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anguished jazz musician.

Boseman’s final creative turn has been honoured with a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award this year, with his wife delivering emotional acceptance speeches on his behalf.

If Boseman wins the Oscar on April 25th, he will join the likes of Peter Finch and Heath Ledger in winning a posthumous Academy Award.

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist Special premieres on Netflix on April 17th.