Hollywood actor, Denzel Washington, has reacted to the death of Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman, whom he once helped with tuition fees at a prestigious theatre program.

Chadwick Boseman died on August 28 after battling colon cancer for four years.

His wife, Simeone Taylor, and members of his family were by his side when he died at his Los Angeles home.

“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 Washington said in a tribute statement.

In June 2019, Chadwick Boseman narrated before an audience how he and nine others were sponsored by Denzel Washington to study at Oxford University.

“Many of you already know the story that Mr. Washington, when asked by Phylicia Rashad to join her in assisting nine theatre students from Howard University, who had been accepted to a summer acting program at the British Academy of Dramatic Acting in Oxford, gracefully and privately agreed to contribute. As fate would have it, I was one of the students that he paid for,” he said.

“Imagine receiving the letter that your tuition for that summer was paid for and that your benefactor was none other than the ‘dopest’ actor on the planet. There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington,” the actor added.