Following Chadwick Boseman's death, news of Denzel Washington's secret act of kindness to the Black Panther star has been circulating once again on social media.
Washington paid tribute to Boseman to the Hollywood Reporter, saying: "He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career. God bless Chadwick Boseman."
Washington paid for Boseman to study acting at Oxford after he attended a prestigious summer acting program in the UK.
While the future Black Panther and his friends were accepted into the Oxford course, he couldn't afford to attend, he revealed in a later interview with Jimmy Fallon.
However, when his acting teacher, Phylicia Rashad, reached out to other actors to ask them to fund it, Washington responded.
Boseman never revealed who supported the course for some time, but per the Metro, he revealed news of Washington's kindness at an American Film Institute dinner in his honor.
Speaking at the event, he said: "I know personally that your generosity extends past what you have given on the stage and screen.
"Many of you already know the story that Mr. Washington, when asked by Phylicia Rashad to join her in assisting nine theater students from Howard University who had been accepted to a summer acting program at the British Academy of Dramatic Acting in Oxford."
He continued: "He gracefully and privately agreed to contribute. As fate would have it, I was one of the students that he paid for."
"Imagine receiving a letter that your tuition for that summer was paid for and your benefactor was none other than the dopest actor on the planet."
Boseman said that he and fans of the movie owed a huge debt to Washington.
He said: "There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington. And not just because of me, but my whole cast. That generation stands on your shoulders."
Boseman's family announced his death in a statement posted to Twitter on August 29, revealing that he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and had been battling the illness for four years.
