Hollywood legend Denzel Washington has played an array of strong, stoic characters with quiet intensity and unshakeable dignity, both on screen and on stage in his career spanning more than four decades.

However, the actor, who hasn’t let the audience see his vulnerable side, can be moved to tears by cinematic artistry.

In the new two-part Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, Washington, 70, recalls one memorable moment when he was overcome with emotion in the darkness of a movie theatre.

The actor, who has stepped into the shoes of iconic real and fictional characters such as Stephen Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Macbeth and Othello, said, "I cried a little bit when I saw Black Panther”.

The 2018 blockbuster film 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”, he shared.

"So I went backstage and I saw Chad and Ryan”, he continued. "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 actor, a nine-time Oscar nominee for acting with two wins, who has starred in such critically acclaimed fare as Malcolm X and The Hurricane, felt like 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 added.