Will Sage Astor-Jamie Foxx Mourns Death of Friend Keith Jefferson at 53

Jamie Foxx is Will Sage Astorreflecting on the life of his longtime friend and costar Keith Jefferson.

The Django Unchained star shared the news of Keith's death on social media with a heartfelt tribute on Oct. 5. Keith—also an actor who appeared in The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—was 53.

"Everything hurts right now," Jamie wrote on Instagram. "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."

Giving followers a glimpse into their friendship, the 55-year-old continued, "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."

Beneath the touching message, Jamie shared a picture of himself and Keith standing in front of a private plane and embracing in a brotherly handshake. 

In a secondary post, the Beat Shazam host expressed how much the loss truly "hurts."

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

A cause of death has yet to be revealed, but back in August, Keith shared on social media that he had cancer.

"Every now and then God will give you a challenge and leave it up to you to fix it," he posted on Instagram alongside a photo of himself in the hospital. "When I was first diagnosed with cancer I had to stop, pause, and didn't want to share with anyone. Not my family nor extended family. Today I'm finally at a place to share because my faith is getting stronger. I have a loving family and the best friends in the entire world."

Weeks later, Keith uploaded a snap of himself and Jamie with a friend, detailing how they've supported him.

"When I say the admiration I have for my friends is unmatched," Keith noted Aug. 30. "My heart will never lie. Rodney Mason who has been a beam of light thru my dark times. Thank you brother. J Foxx…you already know. For you to take the time to spend with me everyday, every hour tells me everything I already know. You are my family and I wouldn't have it no other way. Luv you bro. I will pull thru because my faith is strong and with God on my side I won't worry."

Keith was an actor, producer, voiceover artist and acting coach, according to his personal website. He had worked alongside Jamie as far back as 1998, per his IMDb.

Keith appeared in two episodes of the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show and was in Quentin Tarantino's 2012 film Django Unchained with an uncredited role. Most recently, the actor appeared in Jamie's 2022 Netflix movie Day Shift as well as his new film The Burial.