Movies About Black Legends That Got Snubbed – BuzzFeed – TV & Movies

Certain actors have earned Oscars for immaculately impersonating real-life influential figures in movies — like Jamie Foxx did for his role as Ray Charles in Ray. 

While many biopics are worthy of the awards and accolades that they receive, great biographical movies about African American legends often go unrecognized by the Academy Awards and Emmys. In celebration of Black History Month I am listing the 19 biopics about Black American icons that should’ve gotten an Oscar or Emmy.

Ms. Bassett should’ve taken home a Oscar for her flawless depiction of the Queen of Rock N’ Roll Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It. The remarkable movie star gave us range, BAWDY and overall #BlackExcellence in that role.

Denzel Washington is an incredible actor, and his embodiment of Civil Rights leader and Muslim minister Malcolm X in the 1992 biopic Malcolm X displayed how stellar his skills truly are. This role should’ve been an Oscar win for Denzel. 

Chadwick Boseman had everything about The Godfather of Soul James Brown down pat, from his walk to his raspy higher-pitched voice. Boseman’s performance was most definitely Oscar-worthy.

Watching Andra Day as the enigmatic legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday is like watching a reincarnation of Billie Holiday. There was no way that Andra Day shouldn’t have snatched that Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. 

Laurence Fisburne is a brilliant actor, and he has conveyed that in multiple roles—including his role as the iconic gangster a.k.a the Harlem Godfather Bumpy Johnson in the 1997 film Hoodlum. 

While Bumpy Johnson may have been a controversial figure in Black American history and history in general, Laurence Fishburne did a phenomenal job at illustrating the complexities of the mob leader. 

The way he was able to present Bumpy Johnson as a multifaceted criminal mastermind who was strategic, moralistic and ruthless should’ve been enough to earn him an Oscar. 

Viola Davis practically slays all of the characters she plays, and Ma Rainey is no different. Davis’ portrayal of the influential blues singer was so captivating that it’s incomprehensible as to why she didn’t get an Oscar for her role as the Mother of Blues. 

Eazy-E from N.W.A. was one of the pioneers of gangster rap and actually lived the life he rapped about. Jason Mitchell did such an excellent job at portraying Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton that it was like you were watching the real-life Eazy-E. The Academy Awards shouldn’t have overlooked Jason Mitchell for Oscar consideration in 2016. 

Hip-hop legend Queen Latifah as the Empress of Blues Bessie Smith in Bessie was beyond awe-inducing. It should’ve been an Emmy win for Queen Latifah, or at least an Emmy nomination.

Chadwick Boseman is fantastic in each role he plays, and his role as the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall exemplifies that. It’s a shame that Boseman didn’t get an Oscar for Marshall.

Woody McClain’s depiction of R&B superstar and New Edition member Bobby Brown was so spot on it was as if you were looking at old footage of Bobby Brown. There wasn’t any reason that McClain shouldn’t have snatched an Emmy for The New Edition Story. 

If it wasn’t for the Black woman scientist Katherine Johnson the U.S. wouldn’t have ever made it to the moon. Thanks to the incomparable acting skills of Taraji P. Henson, Katherine Johnson’s story was brought to light in a meaningful way. Why Taraji P. Henson didn’t get an Oscar or at least nominated for her role in Hidden Figures is baffling.  

It’s Beyoncé. Need I say more? It’s hilarious that the Academy didn’t think  Beyoncé’s role as the powerhouse R&B singer Etta James was deserving of an Oscar.

David Oyelowo personified Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. effortlessly and still didn’t win an Oscar. 

Will Smith completely made you believe that he was the heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, yet his powerful performance didn’t yield him an Oscar.