Denzel Washington, known for his powerful and dignified roles, rarely shows his emotions—but Black Panther moved him to tears.

In the new two-part Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, the 70-year-old actor and director reflected on a moment when he got emotional in a movie theatre.

“I cried a little bit when I saw Black Panther,” Washington said, referring to the 2018 movie, which starred Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan and was directed by Ryan Coogler.

“I was on Broadway [in The Iceman Cometh], in fact, and I went to the premiere, and I wasn’t interested in the red carpet and all that. So I went backstage and I saw Chad and Ryan,” he recalled.

“I spoke to them and then I sat down and watched the movie. And I felt like the baton had been passed. I was like, ‘Wow, these young boys are gone,’ you know. I felt, I don’t know if the word is ‘relieved,’ but I was proud to see what they had done and seeing where they were headed,” the Gladiator star admitted.

Washington, who is a nine-time Oscar nominee with two wins and has acted in films like Malcolm X, The Hurricane, and The Equalizer, went on to note that the future of cinema was in good hands.

“You know, I didn’t know then they were gonna make a billion dollars, but they did. So that, uh, that was a special moment for me,” he concluded.