Chadwick Boseman reveals he finally met Denzel Washington to thank him for acting program

Mar 4, 2018

Chadwick Boseman hit the Academy Awards red carpet and saluted Black Panther fans saying, “Wakanda Forever!”

Naturally the crowd went wild.

And during his interview with Michael Strahan, Chadwick Boseman revealed that he’d finally had an opportunity to meet legendary actor Denzel Washington and to thank him for something very special.

Last month Chadwick Boseman spoke about how the Oscar-winning actor played a special role in getting him started in Hollywood in an interview with Rolling Stone.

While studying at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Boseman reportedly said that Black Hollywood heavyweights Phylicia Rashad (also a Howard alum) and Denzel Washington both served as benefactors.

“She would do a play in D.C. and you’d go see it, and she’d drive you home and talk to you, ‘How you eating? You look too skinny. You need a pork chop.’ We were just trying to aspire to her excellence,” recounted Boseman to Rolling Stone.

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Rashad told the magazine she has fond memories of Boseman, who back then was a lanky kid with big dreams who hadn’t yet attained super hero status. “What I saw in him was the sky was the limit. He never asked me to introduce him to anyone – that’s not his way. He was going to make it on his own merits,” said Rashad.

Boseman was eventually selected for an exclusive Oxford acting program, but his income at the time wasn’t enough to cover the cost. Rashad and Washington made it happen.

Rashad rounded up celebrity friends to make sure the Howard students did not miss out on the acting lessons.

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“After we got back, we got a benefactor letter. Denzel paid for me. I’m sure he has no idea. “It was random,” said Boseman. At the time, Boseman wrote Washington a thank you letter, but interestingly enough, the two have never met. Boseman said at the time that he looked forward to the day when he can thank Washington in person.

During his Oscar’s interview with Good Morning America‘s Michael Strahan, Chadwick revealed that he’d finally had an opportunity to meet Denzel Washington to thank him.

And apparently Denzel Washington had jokes!

Boseman said that Washington told him, “You owe me money. And I came to collect.”

Well, with the success of Black Panther it looks like Chadwick Boseman is now in a position to help other young actors in the same way that Denzel Washington helped him.