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Chadwick Boseman's life and career to be marked in Netflix special

The late and great Chadwick Boseman
The late and great Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman's life and career is set to be celebrated in Netflix special Portrait of an Artist.

The acclaimed actor died in August last year aged 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

A trailer for Portrait of an Artist featured Boseman’s collaborators including Viola Davis, Spike Lee and Danai Gurira.

"I’m Chadwick Boseman," the late star says in the teaser. "I am an artist. People call me an actor, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an actor, I would call myself an artist."

Davis, who starred alongside Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, says: "You know you have to step up when you’re in his presence."

Da 5 Bloods director Lee says, "he just had this weight, this aura".

The streaming giant is home to Boseman's final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, for which he is widely tipped to win the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of an anguished jazz musician.

Boseman’s final performance has been honoured with major prizes this awards season, including a Golden Globe, a Critics’ Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

He is considered the frontrunner for the best actor Oscar ahead of the ceremony on April 25.

If Boseman wins, he will join the likes of Peter Finch and Heath Ledger in winning a posthumous Academy Award.

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist Special premieres on Netflix on April 17.

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