When Chadwick Boseman was a student at Howard University, one of his teachers was legendary actress Phylicia Rashad and she encouraged him to apply for a summer program at Oxford University’s drama department in London.
Chadwick was accepted, but he couldn’t afford the tuition so Phylicia found famous friends to pay for him and other students to attend the school. He later learned that Denzel Washington was the person who paid for his schooling!
It wasn’t until the premiere of Black Panther that Chadwick was able to finally thank Denzel for that gift. He told THR that he told Denzel the story on the red carpet and the actor replied, “Oh, so you owe me money! That’s why I’m here — I’m here to collect!”
After hearing about the tragic news of Chadwick‘s death at the age of 43, Denzel released a statement to pay tribute to the late actor.
“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,” Denzel said in his statement. “God bless Chadwick Boseman.”
Read what Chadwick‘s co-stars from the Marvel movies are saying about his tragic death.
Watch Chadwick talk about the Oxford program below.
