When Chadwick Boseman Was Fired From Daytime Soap ‘All My Children’ For Refusing To Play Racial Stereotype: “You Are Too Much Trouble”

Chadwick Boseman starred in 'All My Children' for a week in 2003 before he was fired.

By
Anushree Madappa
- July 6, 2024 | 12:33 PM IST
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The late Chadwick Boseman is known for his iconic performances in 42, Get on Up, and Black Panther. Before Boseman gained mainstream recognition over his breakout role as baseball legend Jackie Robison in 42, he got his start on television, starring in shows such as Law & Order, CSI: NY, ER, and Fringe.

Chadwick Boseman once shocked his fans when he revealed that he also had a small role in Daytime Soap Opera All My Children, which ran from 1970 to 2013. In 2003, when Chadwick Boseman was 27 years old, he had a brief stint in All My Children. He portrayed Reggie, a young gang member who was adopted by Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and her husband, Jackson Montgomery (Walt Willey), for a week.

While starring in a soap opera is hardly breaking news, the reason why he was fired after a week shocked his fans. In a 2019 interview with The Wrap, Boseman revealed he was fired after a week for voicing concerns to producers about racist stereotypes in the script.

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Chadwick Boseman explained that he was unaware of the problematic script when he first signed on to do the role. “It’s one of those things where you get a role, and you don’t really know,” Boseman said. He added, “Because with a soap opera, you don’t know the full scope of what’s gonna happen — you don’t know where they’re gonna take the character because they don’t always know where the character is going.”

Boseman believed he could make changes to his role and “adjust this and change it and make it so it’s stereotypical on the page but not on the screen.”

Chadwick Boseman said he had trouble reconciling with the racial stereotypes in his character and how the writers wanted to portray Reggie in All My Children. He recalled when he voiced his concerns, “They said, ‘You are too much trouble,’” before firing him from the role.

Chadwick Boseman acknowledged the writers made some changes to the script after they recast his role with 17-year-old Micahel Jordan.

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