Even if everything was so-called “normal” and all the stars had been crammed into the Beverly Hilton ballroom as always, there still would have been the gaping empty space where Chadwick Boseman should’ve been.
The star of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, who died last August after battling colon cancer for several years, was a posthumous winner for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama, and we can expect a recurrence of this bittersweet celebration at the SAG Awards (he’s nominated four times, twice individually and as part of the ensembles for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods) and probably at the Oscars, too.
Boseman’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted the Globe on his behalf. (Interestingly, one of the actors he beat, Gary Oldman, accepted Heath Ledger‘s SAG Award when the late actor won for The Dark Knight, Oldman one of the handful of people who scooped up posthumous honors on the fallen star’s behalf in 2009.)
“He would thank God,” said the emotional Ledward, dressed in a golden gown fit for a warrior queen. “He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices. He would thank his incredible team…He would thank his team on set for this film…He would say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you you can, that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing at this moment in history. He would thank [the film’s director] Mr. George C. Wolfe, [producer] Mr. Denzel Washington, lots of people at Netflix. He would thank Ms. Viola Davis…” She named a slew of other castmates. “And I don’t have his words,” she concluded. “But we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we love, so thank you, HFPA, for this opportunity to do exactly that. And honey, you keep ’em coming.”
