LOS ANGELES -- Long before "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman's ascent to stardom, Denzel Washington did his part to pay it forward and help out an aspiring young actor.
Boseman revealed in a February interview with Rolling Stone that Phylicia Rashad, one of his acting teachers, called upon her celebrity friends to donate money to help Boseman and his peers attend a prestigious and pricey acting program at Oxford University. He declined, though, to identify the donors by name during that interview.
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As it turns out, Washington was among the group of generous A-listers who helped fund Boseman's education, and the two recently had the chance to meet in person for the first time.
"It was a fun conversation. The first thing he said was, 'You owe me money! I came to collect,'" Boseman said during the Oscars pre-show on ABC. He pledged that he would follow in Washington's footsteps and pay it forward to others when possible.
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"Giving is the most selfish [selfless] thing you'll ever do," Boseman said before ending the interview with a "Wakanda forever!" salute to a cheering crowd.
AP
Chadwick Boseman arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)