Five years after Chadwick Bosemanโs passing, the late actor was honored with the 2,828th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the morning of Thursday, November 20. His wife, Simone Ledward-Boseman, accepted the honor on his behalf, joined by friends, collaborators, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan, and Letitia Wright were also in attendance, celebrating a career that reshaped what was possible for Black storytelling on screen.The ceremony also marked a rare public appearance for Chadwickโs two older brothers, Derrick and Kevin Boseman.ย
Later that afternoon at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, The Knockturnal sat with Derrick and Kevin for an intimate conversation about art, family, and the responsibility of carrying forward a legacy built with so much intention.ย
Kevin began by describing the surreal feeling of the day:ย
โThis is a momentous momentโฆ the pinnacle in a way of being a Hollywood actor. We were on the journey with Chad from the beginning, from his first ideas of becoming an actor, auditioning in New York, getting a lot of rejectionโฆ but I always believed in him. His career was surreal. To be here today and know it was all built on intention and purpose is incredible.โ
He shared that a family friend, also an actor, recently reminded them how rare Chadwickโs rise truly was, especially for a Black actor, and how much it meant to see him play figures like Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall with such depth and clarity.
When I asked why he always believed his brother would succeed, Kevin smiled:ย
โHe was always sort of mysticalโฆ there was a deep spirituality about him. Even as a kid, he always knew exactly what he wanted to do.โ
Derrick added context from their childhood home, a bedroom filled wall-to-wall with encyclopedias and books:
ย โI think it starts with God,โ he said. โAnd in the bedroom we grew up in โ this big volume of encyclopedias and books about Black history. As a little boy, I would read about all these icons and so would he, men like Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, James Brown. So when he played them, he was living what heโd studied. He was born to do what he did, for such a time as this.โย
I asked if Chadwick would have enjoyed the Walk of Fame moment and Derrick answered honestly:
โHe wouldโve come, smiled for the camerasโฆ but it wasnโt about Oscars or stars. It wasnโt about being famous. It was about the art, the work, and telling our stories. This medium allows Black stories to be told. Thatโs what he cared about.โ
The brothers spoke about what Chadwick was like behind closed doors: disciplined, spiritual, and endlessly focused. Derrick told me:
โHe exercised, prayed, and meditated, in no certain order, every single day. We would be home for the holidays and we have a formal living room. He would go in that living room and sit for thirty, forty minutes meditating. He was a third-degree black belt in jiu-jitsu. His workouts were otherworldly. All those fight scenes โ that was him. He didnโt really need a bodyguard. If they were there they were in the shadows. He added, โHe was always working. Even during holidays heโd be writing in a notebook.โ
And Kevin added:
โHe had an unrelenting focus. He knew exactly what he wanted and he couldnโt be distracted.โ
When I asked which role Chadwick was most proud of, Derrick shared a story about the moment Chad was offered the chance to play James Brown after 42:
โHe called me one day and said, โMan, I donโt knowโฆ if I keep playing these historical figures, I might get typecast.โ
I told him, โIf you play James Brown as if you were James Brown, theyโll know you can do anything.โ
And after that, we never had another conversation about what roles he could get. He wrote his own ticket.โ
Many donโt realize Chadwick wasnโt just an actor, but also an equally talented playwright and screenwriter. Kevin revealed he and Derrick are now producing one of his plays, Deep Azure, in collaboration with Shakespeareโs Globe Theater in London, set to open in February 2026.ย
The Boseman family is also developing a community-centered foundation inspired by Chadwickโs values and a scene from his own work in Black Panther โ a moment in which his character, TโChalla, builds a Wakandan outreach center for youth.
Derrick explained:
โWe want it to be a place where you can get funded for your dream, even if itโs not acting. If you want to be a lawyer, a doctor, a truck driver, a barber, a nail techโฆ anything. And we want to address the ills our people face: mental health, drugs, health issues. We want something that helps our people overcome โ not keep saying โwe shall overcome.โโ
Even in a short interview, Derrick and Kevin Bosemanโs warmth, clarity, and pride were unmistakable. And as they move forward, producing Chadwickโs work, building his foundation, and honoring him in ways both public and deeply personal, it is abundantly clear that Chadwickโs legacy is still alive, and unfolding.
