Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honoured at the 78th Golden Globes for his portrayal of an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The win continues Boseman’s streak of posthumous honours for his performance as Levee in George C. Wolfe’s August Wilson adaptation.
The Best Actor in a Motion Picture award was presented by Renée Zellweger, and accepted by Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward.
Fighting back tears, she said: “He would thank God, he would thank his parents, he would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices.”
Chadwick Boseman with his wife Taylor Simone Ledward
On behalf of her husband, she thanked Boseman’s team and his Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom co-stars.
She said: “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 were meant to be doing at this moment in history.”
After naming Boseman’s co-stars in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Simone added: “And I don’t have his words 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 hon, you keep ’em coming.”
Taylor Simone Ledward accepts the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama on behalf of her late husband @chadwickboseman at the #GoldenGlobes.pic.twitter.com/UOgdLlnA52
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) March 1, 2021
The award marked Boseman’s first Golden Globe nomination and first win. In the Best Actor category, he was nominated alongside Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal, Anthony Hopkins for The Father, Gary Oldman for Mank, and Tahar Rahim for The Mauritanian.
Boseman is also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics Choice Award, and is tipped to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Boseman died at age 43 in August last year from colon cancer, a diagnosis he never publicly discussed.
The 2021 Golden Globe Pre-Show will air on RTÉ2 at 9pm on Monday, March 1, followed by highlights from The 2021 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards at 9.30pm