Chadwick Boseman Wints Best Actor at 2021 Critics Choice Awards

The 26th Annual Critics Choice Awards took place Sunday night with the event celebrating the best in film and television from the past year and when it came to the award for Best Actor, there was some major competition with nominees such as Ben Affleck for The Way Back, Tom Hanks for News of the World, Anthony Hopkins for The Father, Gary Oldman for Mank and more. However, only one actor can take home the award, and tonight, that went to Chadwick Boseman for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

The Critics Choice award marks the second major award for the late Black Panther star for his role in the Netflix film. It's a role that has garnered a large amount of critical praise for the actor in what is sadly his final role. Last weekend, Boseman also won the Golden Globe for "Best Performance By an Actor In a Motion Picture - Drama" for the role as well. Tonight, like last week, his wife Taylor Simone Ledward accepted the award on his behalf.

Based on the play of the same name by August Wilson, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom tells the story of "Mother of Blues" Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (played by Viola Davis) and centers on a fateful recording session for her album, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. In the film, Boseman plays the ambitious trumpeter Levee. The film presently sits at a 98 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and nearly every one of the 275 reviews praises Boseman's performance in the film.

Nominated for Best Actor alongside Boseman were Ben Affleck (The Way Back), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Tom Hanks (News of the World), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Gary Oldman (Mank), and Steven Yeun (Minari). Boseman was also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Da 5 Bloods. That award went to his Black Panther co-star Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah.