Jamie Foxx Mourns Death of Friend and Co-Star Keith Jefferson

Jamie Foxx is mourning the loss of a longtime friend and frequent collaborator after the death of Keith Jefferson.

The Academy Award winner paid tribute to Jefferson on Thursday, sharing a photo to Instagram of himself and the late actor in the hospital.

"This one hurts. Keith, you've been nothing but absolute grace, your whole life," wrote Foxx. "Your heart is pure, your love is immeasurable, you were an amazing soul. We will all miss you dearly. It's gonna take a long time for this to heal. Goodbye, my friend. I love you."

He wrote in another post, "Everything hurts right now having a hard time looking through these pictures reliving the memories of us having a great time going to miss you man gonna miss you… [ever] since we met back in college, you have been [an] incredible soul God rest, NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO SEE THE WORDS ABOUT MY FRIEND RIP Keith."

Jefferson announced his cancer diagnosis on Instagram in August, thanking his supporters — including Foxx.

"I love you whole heartedly. We are cut from the same cloth and that cloth is the human condition. Remember... 'faith is the last thing you can lose.' I'm not about to lose that," wrote Jefferson.

The friends first appeared onscreen together in a 1998 episode of The Jamie Foxx Show. Jefferson has since joined Foxx on a few episodes of his Netflix series Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!, as well as the movies Django Unchained, Day Shift, Hip Hop Family Christmas, The Burial and the upcoming All-Star Weekend.

A Houston native, Jefferson got his BFA in musical theater from United States International University, where he met Foxx. According to his website, Jefferson also received his MFA in acting from the University of Arizona.

The late actor also appeared in such films as Boys on the Side, Tank Girl, The Fantasticks, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was set to produce and make his directorial debut with the upcoming movie, Sitting in Style.