Chadwick Boseman’s legacy remains a massive influence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially in the Black Panther franchise. His acting flair was not the only thing that his co-stars and crews noticed but also his work ethic.
Black Panther films are charged with so much action and fight scenes, and while Marvel actors train really hard to execute their stunts, Boseman was remarkably insistent on doing his own moves.
Black Panther Stuntman Reveals Chadwick Boseman Did His Own Stunts
In an interview with Metro, stuntman Daniel Graham, who doubled Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther, revealed that the late star was very much ready to perform his own stunts regardless of the difficulty. While other actors have the option to hand the work to their doubles, Boseman was more than willing to give it a shot.
“That group of actors, they wanted to do their stunts. We always had to test it first, to see if it’s actor friendly, and then we go up to them and ask them. Sometimes they say yes, and others no, but Chadwick was always up for the challenge.”
Graham shared his most memorable stunt performance in Black Panther and that was the first ceremony fight that took place in the jungle.
“I think that was pretty cool. Then after that, we shoot a pre-vis and we show the director, and the director sees whether it’s his vision or not so he tells us his notes. Then we do it again, then after that, we teach the actors, and we shoot it. With that first fight sequence, it took a whole week to shoot.”
It is incredible to think that a short movie scene like that would take a couple of days to shoot, proving the team’s dedication to showing a great performance as well as paying attention to the little details.
Black Panther Team Knew Nothing Of Chadwick Boseman’s Condition
Daniel Graham also opened up in the same interview with Metro about what it was like working with Chadwick Boseman and the effect of his passing on the whole team. The stuntman revealed that the late actor never complained, and he went to work day by day and focused on honing his craft. Indeed, Graham was shocked by the news of Boseman’s death.
“I didn’t know what was going on; he wasn’t telling anybody his situation, but he was there every day training, he was game, he worked really hard with the choreography and with the stunts.”
Graham’s stunt career started in 2010, and he has worked with huge franchises such as The Hunger Games, Transformers, and Fast and Furious. When he joined the MCU team, he admitted there was so much secrecy in everything. They do not give scripts to everyone, and stunt doubles often do not know what is going on.
Regardless, it did not mess up their work because the fight coordinator would brief them and explain the script and the vision of the director. In the end, they still get the gist of the story.
