“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do a movie about James Brown,” Boseman explained. “I just realize that these guys mean so much to so many people. So you better do it right. Then I read this script and I knew it was going to do the man justice.”

Chadwick Boseman, Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer co-stars in the hard-hitting biopic.

Bosewick wanted to portray Brown’s work ethic and refusal to conform – and he’s put in the effort to make sure he did not misrepresent.

“There’s a book called ‘The Mis-Education of the Negro’ that explains how black men of that era were educated to believe they had limitations,” Boseman says. “James had no education, no boundaries. He believed he had no limitations and truly believed he could break any rule he wanted to achieve success... and that’s exactly what he did.”

More: James Brown Biopic Get On Up Will Make Chadwick Boseman A Star And Have You Dancing For Days

Besides focusing on Brown’s brilliant career moves (early on, he took over promotion of his own shows to break through in the notoriously tough Eastern, Southern and upper Midwest US), as well as the technical and performing sides.

Watch the trailer below.