PRESS: Chadwick Boseman in American Way

Midsummer in Oxford alum Chadwick Boseman (MIO ’98) talks to American Way magazine about playing trailblazers, launching into the Marvel Universe as Black Panther, and his time in Oxford with BADA.

From the article:

During his college years, Boseman veered away from his dreams of being a writer-director to study acting at Oxford University [at the] British American Drama Academy. He was encouraged to do so—pushed, really—by a teacher, Cosby Show actress Phylicia Rashad. Yes, Mrs. Huxtable convinced the future Black Panther to go to England. “She basically talked me into auditioning for that program,” he says. “I didn’t think I was going to get into it.”

Boseman was always keen to act in friends’ productions in the hope that they would repay the favor when he staged his plays, but he didn’t necessarily feel the urge to be onstage or in front of the camera. During his time at Oxford, though, he was exposed to the classics, which fed his enthusiasm and boosted his confidence. “When I came back, I began to feel like, ‘Oh, now I know what it means to be an actor. There’s a difference between being able to do it and being it.’”