Derrick Boseman, the brother of Chadwick Boseman, has responded to the shocking Best Actor result at the 2021 Oscars. Chadwick Boseman starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Netflix's adaptation of August Wilson's play about 1920s blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her jazz band helmed by the stormy but starry-eyed Levee Green (Boseman). As Boseman's final feature before his unexpected death last August, the film saw considerable publicity ahead of its release, only to receive widespread critical acclaim for Boseman and Davis' electrifying performances.
Sure enough, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom became one of the awards circuit's most prominent darlings. Its performances and period design in particular racked up wins and nominations across every major critical body, with Boseman's family accepting several major awards like a Golden Globe on his behalf. Once the movie scored five 2021 Oscar nominations, including Best Actor and Best Actress, Boseman by that point seemed primed to win his first and final Oscar, something many pundits deemed would be a touching and fitting tribute to one of the 21st century's biggest movie stars. That tidy narrative collapsed when the Academy gave the Oscar to Anthony Hopkins for his performance in The Father, upsetting those who enjoyed Boseman's work and closing the ceremony on a strange and anticlimactic note.
Boseman's brother Derrick shared his thoughts on the result with TMZ (via IndieWire) and explained that he and his family aren't at all upset about it. Despite admitting that a Best Actor win for Boseman's performance would've certainly been an achievement, Derrick and his family know Boseman never obsessed over the Oscars. He explained Boseman "always described them to me as a campaign." Derrick also said the family sends their congratulations to Hopkins, as he's "sure [Anthony] would if Chad won."
Though the Boseman family harbors no ill will toward the Academy, viewers reacted angrily to the fact the show ended with neither a tribute to Boseman nor an acceptance speech from Hopkins, who did not attend the ceremony and wasn't allowed to make his speech over Zoom. The Welsh actor eventually took to social media to both thank the Academy and pay tribute to Boseman in acknowledgment of the talented actor's tragic and untimely passing.
The idea of posthumous Oscar wins has always fascinated those who enjoy movies simply due to their rarity. Only 16 have been awarded throughout the Academy's near 100-year history, with only two for acting categories. The most recent posthumous acting Oscar went to Heath Ledger in 2008 for his now iconic supporting performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, the circumstances of which mirror Boseman's in that it was another adored Hollywood star who died suddenly and far too young. Though Boseman didn't win at the 2021 Oscars as many expected, his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom as a talented performer who never stops talking about his future already looks prescient and devastating in the context of the actor's brief but beloved career.