So Who’s Who In the All-Star Cast of ‘Black Panther’

By Joe Reid @joereid

Published Feb. 13, 2018, 4:23 p.m. ET

Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

**Chadwick Boseman**
**Role:** T'Challa, the newly ascended king of Wakanda, the fictional, massively technologically advanced African nation, as well as the masked superhero Black Panther
**Where You Know Him From:** Boseman made his breakthrough in the role of Jackie Robinson in the film 42, which made $95 million domestic in 2013. Since then, he's been Hollywood's go-to guy for biopics of legendary black figures, from James Brown (*Get On Up*) to Thurgood Marshall (*Marshall*). You might also remember him from the films *Draft Day* and *Gods of Egypt*.
Everett Collection

**Michael B. Jordan**
**Role:** Erik Killmonger, a Wakandan exile turned black-ops soldier bent on taking over Wakanda.
**Where You Know Him From:** After getting his start on daytime TV with *All My Children*, and then HBO's *The Wire*, Jordan made a leap with a role on *Friday Night Lights*. He made the leap into movies with the teen-superhero drama Chronicle, and then in 2013 teamed up with director Ryan Coogler for *Fruitvale Station*. He and Coogler worked together again on *Creed*, and between both films, Jordan earned rave reviews and the reputation as one of the best actors of his generation.
Everett Collection

**Angela Bassett**
**Role:** T'Challa's mother, Queen Ramonda
**Where You Know Her From:** Angela Bassett is one of the most accomplished and respected black actresses working today. Oscar-nominated for her role as Tina Turner in *What's Love Got to Do With It*, Bassett also starred in *Malcolm X*, *Waiting to Exhale* (a film directed by her *Black Panther* co-star Forest Whitaker), and *Strange Days*. Most recently, Bassett got an Emmy nomination for her guest-starring role on *Master of None*.
Everett Collection

**Lupita Nyong'o**
**Role:** Nakia, T'Challa's ex and one of the Dora Milaje, a kind of all-female Secret Service. Nakia in particular serves as a secret agent/spy sent to the world outside Wakanda.
**Where You Know Her From:** Nyong'o won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the 2013 film *12 Years a Slave*. Since then, she got a Tony nomination for her work in the play *Eclipsed* and has starred in the new *Star Wars* films as Maz Kanata.
Everett Collection

**Danai Gurira**
**Role:** Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje
**Where You Know Her From:** Gurira's best-known role to date is as Michonne on *The Walking Dead*, though she's also played Afeni Shakur in *All Eyez on Me* and was critically acclaimed for her role in the indie film *Mother of George*.
Everett Collection

**Letitia Wright**
**Role:** Shuri, T'Challa's teenage sister and essentially Wakanda's tech guru
**Where You Know Her From:** The Guyanese actress has starred in the film *Urban Hymn* and the artificial-intelligence sci-fi series *Humans*.
Everett Collection

**Martin Freeman**
**Role:** Everett Ross, CIA agent and liaison to Wakanda
**Where You Know Him From:** Martin Freeman's relatively few roles that you might've heard about are all super big and important. He played Tim in the British version of *The Office* (essentially the precursor to John Krasinski's Jim Halpert), then stepped into the role of John Watson in the BBC's *Sherlock*, and then also played Bilbo Baggins in the *Hobbit* movies.
Everett Collection

**Forest Whitaker**
**Role:** Zuri, a spiritualist figure in Wakanda who Ryan Coogler has compared to Obi-Wan Kenobi
**Where You Know Him From:** After early roles in *Fast Times at Ridgemont High* and *Good Morning Vietnam*, Whitaker broke out in Neil Jordan's *The Crying Game*. He won an Oscar for his role as Idi Amin in *The Last King of Scotland*, and most recently starred in *Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*.
Everett Collection

**Andy Serkis**
**Role:** Ulysses Klaue, a black-market arms dealer
**Where You Know Him From:** Serkis is the motion-capture genius behind Gollum in *The Lord of the Rings*, the title character in *King Kong*, and Caesar in the new *Planet of the Apes* films.
Everett Collection

**Daniel Kaluuya**
**Role:** W'Kabi, best friend of T'Challa
**Where You Know Him From:** Having previously been on *Black Mirror* and the feature film *Sicario*, Kaluuya broke out in a big way in last February's *Get Out*, leading to a Best Actor nomination and crazy huge career bump.
Everett Collection

**Sterling K. Brown**
**Role:** N'Jobu, a figure from T'Challa's past
**Where You Know Him From:** Brown is a two-time Emmy winner, for *The People v. O.J. Simpson* and *This Is Us*.
Getty Images

**Winston Duke**
**Role:** M'Baku, leader of the antagonistic Jabari tribe in Wakanda
**Where You Know Him From:** Duke is a young, up-and-coming Trinidadian actor who befriended Lupita Nyong'o at Yale Repertory Theater. Previous to *Black Panther*, his biggest exposure was a 7-episode stint on *Person of Interest*.
Everett Collection

**Florence Kasumba**
**Role:** Ayo, one of T'Challa's bodyguards
**Where You Know Him From:** More than any other movies, you remember Kasumba/Ayo for her face-off with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow in *Captain America: Civil War*.
Everett Collection

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If you’re not wildly excited for this weekend’s Black Panther — the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first one to feature a black protagonist — you’re simply not paying attention. After introducing the character of T’Challa, the newly ascended king of Wakanda, in Captain America: Civil War, Marvel set up the Black Panther in his own movie, ready to open up the fictional African nation of Wakanda to the rest of the Marvel-obsessed world.

Director Ryan Coogler, who’d previously won raves for the films Fruitvale Station and Creed, went and assembled one of the most eye-popping casts in recent memory, surrounding his star, Chadwick Boseman, with some of the most accomplished veterans, most exciting newcomers, and most importantly a who’s-who of young, black acting talent. If you’re looking for at least part of the reason for the high levels of anticipation for Black Panther, look no further than that.

So with Black Panther just a few tantalizing days away, we thought we’d hook you up with a guide to the cast: the performers, the characters they’re playing, and the films that made them famous.