Denzel Washington
Acting

Denzel Washington

December 28, 1954 (71 years old) Mount Vernon, New York, USA

Also known as: Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr., Denzel Hayes Washington, دنزل واشینگتون, 丹素·华盛顿, デンゼル ワシントン

Biography

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020. Over his career, he has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. Washington has been honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.

After training at the American Conservatory Theatre, Washington began his career in theatre, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–1988) and in the war film A Soldier’s Story (1984). He won two Academy Awards, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama Glory (1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).

A prominent leading man, Washington also acted in Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Mississippi Masala (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Courage Under Fire (1996), Remember the Titans (2000), Man on Fire (2004), Inside Man (2006), American Gangster (2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023). Washington directed and starred in the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), and Fences (2016).

On stage, he has acted in productions of both Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990) at the Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play Checkmates (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s play Fences (2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (2005), Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O’Neill’s play The Iceman Cometh (2018).

Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2014 • TV

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

2015 • TV

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show

2007 • TV

Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Awards

1944 • TV

The Equalizer

The Equalizer

2014 • Movie

Gladiator II

Gladiator II

2024 • Movie

Movie Credits (66)

Acting

2014

The Equalizer

as Robert McCall

2024

Gladiator II

as Macrinus

2016

The Magnificent Seven

as Sam Chisolm

2023

The Equalizer 3

as Robert McCall

2004

Man on Fire

as John W. Creasy

1989

Glory

as Pvt. Trip

2006

Déjà Vu

as Doug Carlin

2012

Safe House

as Tobin Frost

2018

The Equalizer 2

as Robert McCall

2025

Highest 2 Lowest

as David King

2010

The Book of Eli

as Eli

2001

Training Day

as Alonzo

2007

American Gangster

as Frank Lucas

1991

Mississippi Masala

as Demetrius Williams

2010

Unstoppable

as Frank Barnes

1986

Power

as Arnold Billings

2012

Flight

as Whip Whitaker

2013

2 Guns

as Robert 'Bobby' Trench

2006

Inside Man

as Keith Frazier

1991

Ricochet

as Nick Styles

Crew

2010

The Book of Eli

Producer

2002

Antwone Fisher

Director

2007

The Great Debaters

Director

2012

Safe House

Executive Producer

2023

The Equalizer 3

Producer

2014

The Equalizer

Producer

2016

Fences

Director

2016

Fences

Producer

2024

The Piano Lesson

Producer

2018

The Equalizer 2

Producer

TV Credits (37)

Acting

2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

as Self

1 episodes

2015

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

as Self

1 episodes

2007

The Graham Norton Show

as Self

6 episodes

1944

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Presenter

2 episodes

1944

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Nominee

5 episodes

1997

The View

as Self

1 episodes

1988

American Experience

as Self - Narrator

1 episodes

1971

Great Performances

as Self

1 episodes

2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

as Self- Guest

2 episodes

1956

Tony Awards

as Self - Nominee

1 episodes

1956

Tony Awards

as Self - Presenter

1 episodes

1956

Tony Awards

as Self - Winner/Presenter

1 episodes

1982

St. Elsewhere

as Philip Chandler

137 episodes

1992

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

3 episodes

1988

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

as Self

5 episodes

1988

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

as Self - Guest

1 episodes

1982

Wogan

as Self

1 episodes

2015

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

as Self

1 episodes

1979

CBS News Sunday Morning

as Self

1 episodes

1981

Wetten, dass..?

as Self

2 episodes

Crew

2005

Grey's Anatomy

Director

Personal Info

Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
December 28, 1954 (71 years old)
Place of Birth
Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Popularity
4.9

Career Stats

66
Movies
37
TV Shows