Chadwick Boseman Honored During 2022 Oscar Noms by Phylicia Rashad and Howard University Students

Chadwick Boseman was honored during the 2022 Oscar nominations.

The late star, who was nominated last year for Best Actor in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, was acknowledged during Tuesday morning's announcements when, during the livestream, actress Phylicia Rashad presented the nominees for Best Actor with students at Howard University. Rashad, 73, is the dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard.

"All of our students here are so inspired by Chadwick Boseman, a Howard grad who was so committed to this university," she said. "And, as you know, Chadwick was nominated last year for Best Actor, and we are so honored to announce the nominees in this category."

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Student John Woods III then announced the nominees, which included Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Washington, 67, once quietly paid for Boseman and several of his Howard University classmates to attend an acting program at England's Oxford University. In 2019, Boseman shared the full story while honoring Washington before the Malcolm X actor accepted the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Many of you already know the story that Mr. Washington, when asked by Phylicia Rashad to join her in assisting nine theater 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," Boseman said back in June 2019.

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"As fate would have it, I was one of the students that he paid for," he continued at the time. "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."

On the Oscars red carpet a year before that, Boseman opened up about the moment when he finally got a chance to thank Washington for his support.

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"It was a fun conversation. The first thing he said was, 'You owe me money! I came to collect!' " Boseman recalled to ABC's Michael Strahan at the time. "It was so deep, I can't even go into it right now. We sort of just talked about what's been happening, what's about to happen."

The Black Panther star died of colon cancer on Aug. 28, 2020, at age 43. He had been diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and had battled it privately for four years as it progressed to stage IV.

In a statement after Boseman's death, Washington honored the 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."

The 94th annual Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on Sunday, March 27.