Marvel – 2017(LOS ANGELES) — Sterling K. Brown is excited about the release of his upcoming film, Black Panther, because to him it offers an opportunity for black representation.
“I get to take my kid to go see a black superhero movie and he gets to see an image of himself as the man,” the This Is Us star tells People magazine. “Chadwick Boseman looks like me. He looks like my son.”
Boseman stars as Black Panther’s title character, aka T’Challa, the superhero king of the mythical African nation of Wakanda, the most technically-advanced nation on the planet.
Brown says when he was a youth, he looked up to Christopher Reeve as Superman and Michael Keaton as Batman, because there really weren’t superheroes that looked like him. Now, he says, that’s changed.
“I can’t wait to see little white kids dressing up as Black Panther,” he says. “It’s friggin’ dope!”
In fact, Brown admits that he was such a fan of the upcoming film that during a meeting with executive producer Nate Moore he specifically wanted to find out how he could be a part of it.
“I said, ‘Listen, I’ve been practicing my Wakanda. I know you’ve already got the titular characters taken care of, but how can I be down? Because man, it’s a black superhero,’” Brown says. “It’s huge.”
Brown got his wish, scoring the role of N’Jobu, a character “from T’Challa’s past.” While his role may not be the biggest in the film, Brown says he’s just “happy” to be a part of the effort.
“I don’t have a huge part, but I’ve got a good part,” Brown says. “I’m happy with my part.”
Black Panther hits theaters February 16 from Marvel, which is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
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