Black Panther lead actor, Chadwick Boseman has revealed that classic Hollywood star, Denzel Washington paid for his acting classes while he was still a student at Oxford University.
Boseman said the tuition was paid via a scholarship program for a summer class he took in school. Speaking on Jimmy Fallon’s show, Boseman said veteran, Phylicia Rashad taught the acting class and got some famous donors to help the college kids get overseas:
I didn’t have money to pay for this, and so she [Rashad] got a few of her friends together and, you know, they paid for us to go. I didn’t know at first–when I came back–and I’ve basically been holding this secret my whole career, [but] when I came back I got a beneficiary letter. And it said, ‘Denzel Washington paid for you.’ You know, and I was like, ‘What?’
Boseman continued;
“I’m sure he has no idea. It was random. I couldn’t wait to write my thank-you letter! I’ve been waiting to meet him, so I can tell him.
The weird thing that happened is, I did the interview, and just before the movie came out we did the NY premiere and he came and I met him. Before the article came out, so I actually lived up to what I originally wanted to do.
Boseman said Denzel joked about it when they finally met,
“Oh, so that’s why I’m here – you owe me money!” Washington told Boseman. “I came to collect!”
Denzel Washington was nominated for the Oscars in the Actor in a leading role category, for the movie, “Roman J Israel, Esq” but lost the award to Gary Oldman, the leading actor in movie, “Darkest Hour”.
