Before Marvel's Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman Had A Guest Role On Justified

It remains almost impossible to believe that Chadwick Boseman, the man who would be Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is gone, even though it's been nearly five years since his tragic death from colon cancer. Boseman was only 43 years old when he died in the summer of 2020, and yet he'd left a permanent mark and legacy on the world of pop culture. The fact that he portrayed such an instantly beloved superhero played a huge part in crafting his legacy, of course, although Boseman's award-worthy performances in films like "42" (which paved the way for him to get the role of T'Challa) and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" went a long way towards proving that if he'd had the chance, he would have made an even bigger impact outside of the MCU thanks to his innate talent and charisma.

Of course, the reality is that most actors aren't movie stars, but just working actors — even those who eventually make the leap to super-stardom. That was very much the case for Boseman. Yes, he would eventually play real-life figures like James Brown and Jackie Robinson, but the films in which he appeared as those men were released just a couple years before Boseman turned 40. Prior to that, he mostly worked on the small screen, showing up in everything from "Law & Order" to "Cold Case" to "CSI: NY." But one of his most notable guest appearances came in one of his last pre-A-List pieces of work, when he ran up against the U.S. Marshals in the excellent FX drama series "Justified."

For the uninitiated, "Justified" is one of the more underrated cable dramas of the 2010s. It was adapted from a set of stories written by the brilliant author Elmore Leonard and focused on U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant). Givens cuts a bit of a neo-Western cowboy figure. While he's alive and kicking in the modern age, he can't go anywhere without his traditional Stetson hat, and his own specific code of ethics and morals doesn't always line up with the laws he's meant to mete out when capturing bad guys. (In the series pilot's opening sequence, we see him kill a particularly odious drug dealer, but not with a great deal of legal standing.) Givens, essentially, is a bit more of an old-fashioned hero (as opposed to anti-heroic figures like Walter White or Don Draper), but he frequently ran up against the system in spite of being part of that system. 

While "Justified" had lengthy arcs across its six seasons on the FX cable network, there would often be case-of-the-week adventures sprinkled in the middle. So, on one hand, while we'd get to see Givens face off against the flamboyant Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), an old frenemy from his days in Kentucky, he would also be tasked with solving less flashy single-episode cases. And that's where Chadwick Boseman comes in. He only appeared in a single episode of "Justified" — namely, Season 2's "For Blood or Money." In the episode, he played Ralph "Flex" Beeman, a ne'er-do-well associate of a paroled criminal who's looking for some quick cash. 

Because "Justified" is, at heart, an Elmore Leonard story, the situation can't even be that simple, of course. The paroled criminal is Clinton Moss (Larenz Tate), who happens to be the brother-in-law of one of Givens' fellow Marshals (Erica Tazel), and who also happened to have killed the Marshal's sister while under the influence, leading to his stint in prison. Even though Beeman isn't the main attraction of the episode, the series' writers manage to add in a Leonard-esque quirk to his character, who turns out to be a wannabe magician. Since Clinton shoots him in the hand in an early scene, Flex spends his final few moments at a rundown diner threatening the man for having ruined his shot at the big time. 

It's a credit to Boseman — who, sadly, doesn't actually get to face off against Olyphant himself when his character is quickly killed — that he's able to establish his own bona fides as an arresting screen figure in just a few minutes of on-air time. No one would be able to rewatch this episode now with the hindsight we have about Boseman's future and imagine that Flex is meant to steal the focus from Clinton, but it's not just the shock of recognizing such a soon-to-be-famous star that allows you to look more at Flex than at the man whom "For Blood or Money" is more centered on. He was just that good.

The nature of "Justified" meant that Boseman was one of many guest stars who appeared on the series, which aired from 2010 to 2015 (not counting the sequel series "Justified: City Primeval," which aired in 2023). Some of the guests served as part of lengthier season-long arcs, like when the estimable character actor Margo Martindale showed up as Mags Bennett, a matronly but nasty drug runner, or when comedian Patton Oswalt showed up as a Kentucky constable. However, there were also plenty of notable performers who showed up for just one episode, such as Tony Hale of "Arrested Development" and "Veep," Alan Tudyk of "Firefly," and Carla Gugino all but reprising the role of U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco (whom she played on the ABC series bearing the character's name years earlier). 

Yet, as deep as the bench of guest and recurring players on "Justified" was, there's little doubt that Chadwick Boseman stood out. It's almost akin to watching old episodes of 'Law & Order" and seeing an extremely young Philip Seymour Hoffman pop up, or checking out early episodes of that show's spin-off, "Special Victims Unit," and spotting Adam Driver the same year he would start appearing on HBO's "Girls." There's a unique pleasure in watching shows that don't seem too old but then prove how quickly Hollywood fortunes can shine on folks in seemingly small roles. 

Such was the case for Boseman; when you review his overall filmography, it's painfully short for obvious reasons. Still, it's notable that his appearance as Flex Beeman on "Justified" was his penultimate one-off role on TV before he made the true leap to the big screen. (He would appear on an episode of "Fringe" in a dual role later in 2011.) When he appeared in "For Blood or Money," it was impossible to know where his star would go and how quickly it would rise, but even in the few minutes he shows up on screen, it's obvious that this man was destined for greater things. It's still just such a shame that we only had him on the big screen for such a short while.