Chadwick Boseman, the regal actor who embodieda long-held dream of African Americanmoviegoers as the star of the groundbreaking superhero film “Black Panther,” died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 43.

His publicist confirmed the death, saying Mr. Boseman’s wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, and family were by his side at the time. A statement posted on Mr. Boseman’s Instagram account said that he learned he had Stage 3coloncancerin 2016 and that it had progressed to Stage 4

“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” the statement said. “From ‘Marshall’ to ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ August Wilson’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

A private figure by Hollywood standards, Mr. Boseman rarely publicized details about his personal life. He found fame relatively late as an actor —he was 35 when he appeared in his first prominent role, as Jackie Robinson in “42” —but made up for lost time with a string of star-making performances in majorbiopics.

Mr. Boseman had admired T’Challaand Marvel’s “Black Panther” comics since attending Howard University, where he worked at an African bookstore as an undergraduate.

When the opportunity came to bring the character —and his fictional African homeland, Wakanda —to the big screen, Mr. Boseman embraced the role’s symbolic significance to Black audiences with a statesman’s pride and devotion. He lobbied for the characters to speak in authentic South African accents and led on-set cast discussions about ancient African symbolism and spirituality.

The film, shot in 2017 after Mr. Boseman received his diagnosis, was a cultural sensation —the first major superhero movie with an African protagonist and the first to star a majority Black cast. It was near universally praised by critics for its thematic heft and array of dynamic performances by Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett and others.

Audiences were even more enthusiastic. Joyful armies of fans participated in special outings and repeated viewings. Many came to theaters dressed in African-inspired clothing and accessories, often using a greeting from the film, “Wakanda forever,” as a convivial rallying cry.

The fervor helped make “Black Panther” one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, with more than $1.3 billion in earnings globally. Its success represented a moment of hope, pride and empowerment for Black moviegoers around the world. And it marked an inflection point in Hollywood, where decades of discrimination against Black-led films gave way to a new era of increased visibility and opportunity for Black artists.

How the Walt Disney Company might continue the blockbuster franchise without Mr. Boseman, if at all, was unclear. Although a sequel had been scheduled for release in 2022, filming had yet to begin. On Twitter, fans quickly mounted a campaign demanding that Disney not recast the role. The studio had no comment about him.

“I saw himwork a lot of third shifts, a lot of night shifts,” Mr. Bosemantold The New York Timeslast year. “Whenever I work aparticularly hard week, I think of him.”

It wasn’t an upbringing that suggested a future in Hollywood. Mr. Boseman was flanked by the traditional working-class values of his parents on one side, and an environment shadowed by racism on the other. Inan interview with Rolling Stone in 2018, he recalled being the target of racial slurs as a child while simply walking down the street.

In high school, Mr. Boseman was a serious basketball player, but turned to storytelling after a friend and teammate was shot and killed. He enrolled at Howard University with the dream of becoming a director.

While taking an acting class there with the Tony Award-winning actress and director Phylicia Rashad, Mr. Boseman and his classmates were accepted to theBritishAmericanDramaAcademyin Oxford, England.

After graduating, Mr. Boseman moved to New York to work in theater. He wrote and directed several plays, including “DeepAzure” and “Hieroglyphic Graffiti,”many of which were infused with the grammar of hip-hop and pan-African theology. He lived in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and earned money by teaching acting to students at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem.

A recurring role in the 2007-9 ABC Family series“LincolnHeights”brought Mr. Boseman to Los Angeles, where he soon felt the allure of movie stardom.

“Before that, I had just wanted to be an artist in New York,” he said. “I didn’t understand that coming to L.A. and trying to be a film actor was a completely different thing.”

Brian Helgeland, the writer and director of “42,” which gave Mr. Boseman his breakout role, attributed his quick rise in the industry to his striking presence onscreen. Mr. Helgeland said Mr. Boseman reminded him of sturdy icons of 1970s virility, like Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood.

“It’s the way he carries himself, his stillness —you just have that feeling that you’re around a strong person,” Mr. Helgeland said.

After starring in “Black Panther,” Mr. Boseman reprised the role in two “Avengers” films,“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

He was developing multiple projects as a screenwriter and as a producer for what he hoped would be a fruitful new chapter in his career.

During this summer’s wave of protests against systemicracism and police brutality, heexpressedsupportfortheBlackLivesMattermovementand joined other Black entertainers and executives in calling on the industry tocuttieswithpolicedepartments.

Onscreen and off, he was fueled by a commitment to leave nothing on the table.

“You want to choose a difficult way sometimes,” he said, describing his acting method to The Times last year. “Some days it should be simple, but sometimes you’ve got to take chances.”

(www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/movies/chadwick-boseman-dead.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Obituaries)

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