You'd be forgiven for thinking Chadwick Boseman is somebody who's been in the Hollywood spotlight for some time. Whilst he has been in a number of different projects on television and in film, his biggest role came this year with the release of 'Black Panther', in which he portrays the titular hero; a man also known as T'Challa. Now a mainstay of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he's not somebody who's going to disappear from cinema screens any time soon.

Chadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa, aka Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic UniverseChadwick Boseman stars as T'Challa, aka Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Boseman is actually a guy from humble beginnings, who had a dream to make it big in the acting industry. Without the cash to go out and hone his talents with the proper training however, he had to look to other means in a bid to chase the career he so wanted. One particular opportunity came from former 'The Cosby Show' star Phylicia Rashad.

Rashad was at the time of Boseman searching for help to go and study, asking her well-off friends to donate funds and put some money together so that children like him could study in Oxford. Boseman was one of the lucky people to get the privilege, with his particular donations coming from a major star.

Denzel Washington was the man responsible for paying for Chadwick Boseman's acting studiesDenzel Washington was the man responsible for paying for Chadwick Boseman's acting studies

Speaking during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the actor revealed: "I didn’t have money to pay for this, and so she [Rashad] got a few of her friends together and, you know, they paid for us to go. I didn’t know at first – when I came back – and I’ve basically been holding this secret my whole career, [but] when I came back I got a beneficiary letter. And it said, ‘Denzel Washington paid for you.’ You know, and I was like, ‘What?'"

Boseman went on to explain that he got the chance to thank Washington personally just before he first opened up about the story publicly, in his famous Rolling Stone cover issue.

Knowing that there are plenty of people within the industry willing to put their hands in the pockets and help out the youth that will make up their business in the future is certainly heartwarming stuff. Hopefully, it's acts like this that will continue and help to put Hollywood in a good light, despite all of the chaos and scandal that is currently surrounding it.

More: 6 Things You Need To Know About Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman's new movie 'Black Panther' is available in cinemas now.