(Credits: Far Out / D. Stevens / Legendary Pictures Productions LLC / Warner Bros. Pictures / Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures / David Lee / Net…
Sun 22 February 2026 3:00, UK
As Marvel’s first major Black superhero, the late, great Chadwick Boseman will always be remembered for his role in Black Panther and for inspiring millions of children worldwide who weren’t used to seeing someone like them in such parts.
His prowess at playing inspirational Black characters doesn’t just stop at Wakanda, and through his performances as James Brown and Jackie Robinson in Get On Up and 42, respectively, he brought to life two of the most important figures in recent African-American cultural history.
However, his dedication to this cause once almost cost him his entire career, when in 2003, Boseman was cast in his first-ever TV show, and it was a big one. He would be joining the set of All My Children, a soap opera that had been running since 1970, an absolute dream role for any young actor looking to make a splash. Not only would he receive national exposure on a famous series, but he was also set to earn a shedload of cash.
“I was promised to make six figures, more money than I had ever seen,” Boseman told a crowd of students at Howard University in 2018. As this was a recurring role, the star was also set to gain a bit of job security, which is almost unheard of in the acting world, but things were not as rosy as they seemed.
“Once I saw the role I was playing, I found myself conflicted,” he continued, “This role seemed to be wrapped up in assumptions about us as Black folk”.
The character in question was of Reggie Montgomery, a poor Black kid, who, having spent most of his early life on the streets becoming involved with crime and losing his brother to gun violence, ends up being adopted by local lawyer Jackson Montgomery, with a promise to help him turn his life around. The character played into several negative stereotypes about young African-American men, and Boseman didn’t feel comfortable supporting it, such that, after only a few days on the job, he went to the show’s producers to raise his concerns, which would serve as his undoing.
“I was let go from that job the next day,” he recalled, “The questions I asked caught the producers off guard. It perhaps paved the way for a less stereotypical portrayal for the Black actor that stepped into the role after me.”
As it turns out, that actor would be one Boseman would come to know very well in the future, as after just a handful of appearances as Reggie, the part was passed from the Black Panther to his nemesis, Killmonger, AKA Michael B Jordan. A friend of Boseman’s as well as his onscreen enemy, Jordan stayed on the show for the next three years and used it to establish his own career.
Despite their decision to fire the guy who made the suggestions, the producers did actually take them on board, making the character less stereotypical, which makes one wonder why they couldn’t have just done that in the first place with Boseman on board.
Boseman would eventually find his way to the top of the Hollywood peak, and he did so his way, wherein his passion for playing three-dimensional Black characters that brought joy and hope to the next generation was nothing short of incredible. His brief time on All My Children is just another example of why he was a real-life superhero and remains an inspiration from beyond the grave.
