Actor Chadwick Boseman has made history, becoming the first-ever actor to be nominated for four SAG Awards in one year in the film categories. He is up for awards for: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Da 5 Bloods), Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
The nominations were announced on February 4. Boseman passed away from colon cancer at age 43 in August 2020.
Da 5 Bloods is set during the Vietnam War and was co-written, produced and directed by Spike Lee. It co-stars Delroy Lindo and Jonathan Majors and tells the story of 5 Black troops who find out where a CIA plane has crashed, take the gold bars that were stored in it and bury them for later retrieval. But after the landmarks they used to identify the gold’s location are destroyed, they must wait for a new opportunity to source their forbidden treasure. The film is exclusively available via Netflix and was the last one released during Chadwick Boseman’s life.
Boseman’s final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, focuses on a day in the life of 1920’s blues legend Ma Rainey. Though she was highly successful in her career, the singer still has to overcome racism and misogyny, proving that rises to the top still present intense struggles for Black women. Boseman starred as Levee Green, a trumpeter with big dreams—and an even bigger ego that ultimately overwhelms him. The movie was also a Netflix original and was based on a 1982 play written by August Wilson. It was produced in part by Denzel Washington.
The late actor is also nominated for a Golden Globe (Best Performance by an Actor in a drama) for his portrayal of Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, as well as 2 NAACP Image Awards (Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture) for Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Click here for a full list of SAG Awards nominees.