TORONTO: Denzel Washington said 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 after a long battle with cancer recently, lived a full life.
Washington, who had once paid Boseman's tuition, said the actor didn't 'get cheated' but rather 'we did'.
"He didn't get cheated. We did. I pray for his poor wife and his family.
"They got cheated, but he lived a full life," Washington said during an informal conversation with veteran Hollywood director Barry Levinson at the Toronto Film Festival on Thursday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Washington said Boseman was a "gentle soul" and recalled the red carpet premiere for Disney's "Black Panther" that he attended.
"I went backstage and I saw Chad and I saw Ryan Coogler, and then I watched the movie and I remember shedding a tear, because I thought, man, these young guys are gone. Like they'd taken over," Washington recalled.
During the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award for Washington in 2019, Boseman revealed that the 'Training Day' star had paid for his tuition to take part in a British American Drama Academy summer programme.
Boseman died on August 28 after a secret four year battle with colon cancer.