Denzel Washington Calls Chadwick Boseman 'Brilliant' and Honors Him with a Heartfelt Tribute

Denzel Washington has paid a touching tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. See the heartfelt message here.

Last week, the world lost a great actor when it was announced that Chadwick Boseman had died after a battle with colon cancer.

As the news broke, fans and celebrities took to social media to express their sadness and shock at the 43-year-old's death.

One celebrity that reached out to honor the "Black Panther" star was Denzel Washington, who revealed that he had once paid for Boseman to attend an acting program at Oxford University.

Washington was also a producer on one of the last movies that Boseman worked on, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." He honored the late actor 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."

After Boseman died, the tweet that was shared by his family became the most liked tweet ever, with over 7 million likes and 3.1 million retweets.

In 2018, the "42' star opened up about his connection to Washington during an episode of "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon.

Without Washington, there would have been no "Black Panther."

During the episode, Boseman revealed that while he was at Howard University, he was given the opportunity to travel to Oxford University in England for an acting course.

While at Howard, Phylicia Rashad was one of his acting teachers who encouraged him to apply for the course. However, he had no means to pay for it. Rashad made it happen by gathering a "few of her friends" to send a group of students to Oxford.

Boseman said that when he came back, he received a beneficiary letter and it said no other but Washington had paid for him.

Boseman publically thanked him when he spoke at the American Film Institute Awards where Washington was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

While speaking on stage, Boseman called his benefactor a "sage and a king" adding that without Washington, there would have been no "Black Panther."

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" which also features Viola Davis, was meant to be released this year. However, a date has not been revealed.

The movie is based on the 1982 Pulitzer prize-winning novel by August Wilson and will premier on the streaming service Netflix.