Denzel Washington Jokes That Chadwick Boseman Owes Him Money

Legendary actor Denzel Washington may be known for playing deadly serious characters on the stage and screen, but he isn’t afraid to joke around either.

During a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Washington said after paying for Chadwick Boseman’s summer theater class at Oxford University back when Boseman was an undergrad at Howard University in the 1990s, he went to the Black Panther premiere to collect.

“I went to the premiere to see Black Panther in New York and 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,” Washington quipped. “I liked the movie, Black Panther, yeah, good, Wakanda Forever, but where’s my money?'”

Earlier this year, Boseman spoke about Washington’s generous gift, which was coordinated by Phylicia Rashad.

“I’ve basically been holding this secret my whole career,” Boseman told Jimmy Fallon back in March.

The Black Panther star didn’t want Washington to think he was trying to get something from him by revealing the detail, so he held onto it for years. But just ahead of the premiere of the Marvel blockbuster, Boseman finally got to tell Washington just how much his generosity had impacted his life.

“I think I’ve made it to the point where he’s not going to think I’m trying to get something from him by saying it,” Boseman said. “So I actually lived up to what I originally wanted to do. It was amazing.”