Boyd was also nominated for a Tony Award for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Thomas Jefferson Boyd, a Tony-nominated actor who was a go-to for Spike Lee over the last 30 years, was reportedly murdered in his hometown of Atlanta on Saturday morning. According to The Atanta Journal-Consitution, Police were called to a block in southwest Atlanta, where Boyd was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the back. He was pronounced dead at the scene by an emergency responder and police are still investigating the circumstances revolving around his death.

Boyd was born in nearby Griffin, Georgia and received a degree in education from Morris Brown College. He later studied dance at The California Institute of The Arts and went on to star in a number of Spike Lee's films, including Clockers, Girl 6, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Chiraq, and the TV adaptation of She's Gotta Have It. In 2003, he earned his Tony nomination for a role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (which is soon to see its own adaptation on Netflix.)

Lee paid tribute to his longtime collborator on Instagram today, sharing a photo from the set of Clockers with a sobering commemoration. "I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night in Atlanta, Georgia," Lee wrote. You can read the full post below.