Chadwick Boseman, Dan Akroyd & Nelsan Ellis Masterfully Honor James Brown In Get On Up

The new James Brown biopic, Get On Up, is about friendships. Chadwick Boseman, who plays Brown, along with Nelsan Ellis (Bobby Byrd) and Dan Akroyd (Ben Bart), showed incredibly chemistry while portraying key relationships in the Godfather of Soul’s life.

Ellis, who many will readily recognize from his role as Lafayette on HBO’s True Blood, was exceptional as Brown’s best friend and talented sideman Bobby Byrd. Amazingly, he and Boseman had never worked together before.

“Working with Mr. Boseman, it was an easy dance with him [because] he’s a great actor,” Ellis, who went to Julliard, told Hip-Hop Wired. “And he’s such a generous actor. Every single day working with him I loved.”

For Boseman, the feeling was mutual.

“I been a fan of his for years,” said Boseman. “I [watched] him on True Blood and watched him in loads of movies so I already knew it was going to be a good chemistry.”

Boseman became a star after his portrayal of Jackie Robinson in 42 so he knows a thing or two about acting, and heaped praise on his co-star. “He seemed like he worked from a place that was subtle and truthful,” he said. “I felt that once we got out of the dance rehearsals, there was a camaraderie because we were both feeling similar pain. [laughs] We went through hell together with AJ.”

That AJ he’s referring to is the choreographer, Aakomon Jones, who had Boseman ably kicking Brown’s trademark footwork and moves.

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Photos: Warner Bros.

Akroyd didn’t hit the dancefloor in the film, but revealing the tight relationship between Brown and his promoter turned business confidant Ben Bart was just as crucial.

“Dan Akroyd, he’s a legend,” said Boseman. “It was just a pleasure to have him on this movie because of the enthusiasm he brought to it and also because he knew James Brown. It was an interesting relationship that James Brown had with Ben Bart, Pop. I remember reading that in the autobiographies and the biographies and [I was like] he calls this white man Pop? At first I was like, Really? The more I read about it the more I understood the friendship. It flip flopped. There was a friendship, there was a mentorship that Pop had for him and also they taught each other. It was easy to do that with Dan because he gave so much.”

Akroyd has nothing but praise for Boseman.

“It’s not hard to love Chad. Of course his past work, the incredible job he did in 42, another breakthrough movie of what we should be thinking about in this country at all times,” said the veteran of classic films like Ghostbusters and The Blues Brothers. “He’s just enormously lovable and extremely talented man.  My affection in real like for him I think translates in the movie. I think you can see it because Pops really loved James Brown, they had a great friendship.

Get On Up: The James Brown Story is in theaters Friday, August 1.