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).
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Highest 2 Lowest
David King
2025
Gladiator II
Macrinus
2024
The Equalizer 3
Robert McCall
2023
Sidney
Self
2022
Giving Voice
Self
2020
The Equalizer 2
Robert McCall
2018
Fences
Troy Maxson
2016
The Magnificent Seven
Sam Chisolm
2016
The Equalizer
Robert McCall
2014
2 Guns
Robert 'Bobby' Trench
2013
Flight
Whip Whitaker
2012
Safe House
Tobin Frost
2012
Unstoppable
Frank Barnes
2010
The Book of Eli
Eli
2010
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Walter Garber
2009
The Great Debaters
Melvin B. Tolson
2007
American Gangster
Frank Lucas
2007
Déjà Vu
Doug Carlin
2006
Inside Man
Keith Frazier
2006
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Self
2005
The Manchurian Candidate
Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
2004
Man on Fire
John W. Creasy
2004
Out of Time
Matt Lee Whitlock
2003
Antwone Fisher
Dr. Jerome Davenport
2002
John Q
John Quincy Archibald
2002
Training Day
Alonzo
2001
Remember the Titans
Coach Herman Boone
2000
The Bone Collector
Lincoln Rhyme
1999
The Hurricane
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
1999
The Siege
Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
1998
He Got Game
Jake Shuttlesworth
1998
Fallen
John Hobbes
1998
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
1997
The Preacher's Wife
Dudley
1996
Courage Under Fire
Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
1996
Devil in a Blue Dress
Easy Rawlins
1995
Virtuosity
Parker Barnes
1995
Crimson Tide
Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
1995
Philadelphia
Joe Miller
1993
The Pelican Brief
Gray Grantham
1993
Much Ado About Nothing
Don Pedro of Aragon
1993
Malcolm X
Malcolm X
1992
Ricochet
Nick Styles
1991
Mississippi Masala
Demetrius Williams
1991
Rabbit Ears - Anansi
Narrator (voice)
1991
Rabbit Ears - John Henry
Narrator (voice)
1990
Mo' Better Blues
Bleek Gilliam
1990
Heart Condition
Napoleon Stone
1990
Glory
Pvt. Trip
1989
The Mighty Quinn
Xavier Quinn
1989
The George McKenna Story
George McKenna
1988
For Queen & Country
Reuben
1988
Cry Freedom
Steve Biko
1987
License to Kill
Martin Sawyer
1986
Power
Arnold Billings
1986
A Soldier's Story
Private First Class Peterson
1984
Carbon Copy
Roger Porter
1981
Untitled Hannibal Project
Hannibal Barca
Number One on the Call Sheet
Self · (1 episode)
2025
The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
Self
2024
The Making of Gladiator II
Self
2024
Denzel Washington: American Icon
Self
2024
Denzel Washington: A Model American
Self (archive footage)
2022
Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
Self (archive footage)
2022
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Macbeth
2021
Val
Self (archive footage)
2021
The Little Things
Joe 'Deke' Deacon
2021
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
Self (archive footage)
2021
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self (archive footage)
2020
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Roman J. Israel
2017
Chasing Trane
John Coltrane (voice)
2017
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · (1 episode)
2015
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
2014
Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
Narrator
1992
Number 4
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (1 episode)
2014
Circus Halligalli
Self · (1 episode)
2013
Live from Studio Five
Self · (1 episode)
2009
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Self
2009
The Graham Norton Show
Self · (6 episodes)
2007
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2005
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Self · (2 episodes)
2004
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · (1 episode)
2003
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Self
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self · (1 episode)
2003
Straight from the Streets
Self
2000
TRL
Self · (1 episode)
1998
The View
Self · (1 episode)
1997
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
King Omar (voice) · (1 episode)
1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Humpty Dumpty / Crooked Man (voice) · (1 episode)
1995
Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway
Narrator
1992
Black Panther 3
The Equalizer 4
Robert McCall
The Equalizer 5
Robert McCall
The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
Self
1995
Here Comes the Flood
The Early Show
Self - Guest · (2 episodes)
1999
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(3 episodes)
1992
ZDF-Mittagsmagazin
Self · (1 episode)
1989
American Experience
Self - Narrator · (1 episode)
1988
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self · (5 episodes)
1988
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1988
Goldene Kamera Verleihung
Self · (1 episode)
1984
St. Elsewhere
Philip Chandler · (137 episodes)
1982
Wogan
Self · (1 episode)
1982
Wetten, dass..?
Self · (2 episodes)
1981
Flesh & Blood
Kirk
1979
Coriolanus
Roman Soldier / Volscian Soldier
1979
CBS News Sunday Morning
Self · (1 episode)
1979
Wilma
Robert Eldridge, age 18
1977
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · (1 episode)
1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self - Honoree · (1 episode)
1973
Great Performances
Self · (1 episode)
1971
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Winner/Presenter · (1 episode)
1956
The Oscars
Self · (8 episodes)
1953
Today
Self · (2 episodes)
1952
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · (2 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · (4 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner · (1 episode)
1944