In yet another story of mentorship and camaraderie in the entertainment industry, Denzel Washington revealed that he had once funded Chadwick Boseman, the amazing Black Panther actor’s acting class. Talking about this on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the two-time Academy Award-winning actor disclosed that he went to a Black Panther screening and demanded Boseman pay him back.
Denzel Washington funded Chadwick Boseman’s Acting Class
Marvel Black Panther made history in the entertainment industry after making $1.3 billion worldwide and receiving a total of seven Oscar Nominations. However, the Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, owed a lot to the two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington.
The late star, Boseman, studied at Howard University in the late 90s, where all of his peers were going to a prestigious summer theater program at The University of Oxford. Even though many of his friends got in, he was not able to afford it.
It was at that time when Boseman’s acting teacher asked some of her celebrity friends to pay for them. Recalling this, the late actor Chadwick Boseman once said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,
“Denzel paid for me. I’m sure he has no idea. … I’ve been waiting to meet him, so I can tell him.”
The dream of Boseman indeed came true when he met Denzel Washington at the screening of Black Panther.
Denzel Washington Asked Chadwick Boseman to Pay Him Back
Talking about this, Denzel Washington once said that he was waiting for Chadwick Boseman to pay him back. During his appearance on CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Washington recalled the role he played in the career of Chadwick Boseman.
The two-time Oscar winner told Colbert that he met Chadwick Boseman and Ryan Coogler at the screening of Black Panther and jokingly asked Bosman to give his money back. Talking about this, Washington said,
“I saw Ryan Coogler and Chad, and he said, ‘Oh, you know, I just wanted to thank you for paying,’ and I said, yeah, that’s why I’m here. I’m not here to see — I liked the movie, ‘Black Panther,’ yeah, good, Wakanda Forever, but where’s my money?'”
Even though Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020, this heartwarming story between him and Washington, like many others, has kept him alive in the memory of his fans.
Frequently asked questions
How did Denzel Washington help Chadwick Boseman early in his career?
Washington paid for Boseman’s place on a summer theatre programme at Oxford while Boseman was a Howard University student in the late 1990s, after an acting teacher asked celebrity friends to fund the students.
Where did Denzel Washington talk about funding Chadwick Boseman?
On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where Washington joked that he turned up to the Black Panther screening to get his money back after meeting Boseman and director Ryan Coogler.
How well did Black Panther perform at the box office?
Marvel’s Black Panther grossed about 1.3 billion dollars worldwide and went on to collect seven Academy Award nominations.
