Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, an Actor Award, two Golden Globes, two Silver Bears and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century. He has also been honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $5.1 billion worldwide. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theatre, acting in Off-Broadway performances. 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). Washington won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama Glory (1989) and for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles 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). Washington has starred in other notable films, including The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia (both 1993); Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress (both 1995); He Got Game (1998); Remember the Titans (2000); Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu, Inside Man (both 2006); American Gangster (2007); Unstoppable, The Book of Eli (both 2010); The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), Gladiator II (2024), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Washington has also directed the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), Fences (2016), and A Journal for Jordan (2021). On stage, he has acted in The Public Theater productions of Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990). 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) and Othello (2025), Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh (2018).
Filmography
Black Panther 3
Black Panther 3
Highest 2 Lowest
as David King
Highest 2 Lowest
as David King
The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
as Self
The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
as Self
The Making of Gladiator II
as Self
The Making of Gladiator II
as Self
Gladiator II
as Macrinus
Gladiator II
as Macrinus
Denzel Washington: American Icon
as Self
Denzel Washington: American Icon
as Self
The Equalizer 3
as Robert McCall
The Equalizer 3
as Robert McCall
Sidney
as Self
Sidney
as Self
Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
as Self (archive footage)
Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
as Self (archive footage)
The Tragedy of Macbeth
as Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth
as Macbeth
Val
as Self (archive)
Val
as Self (archive)
The Little Things
as Joe 'Deke' Deacon
The Little Things
as Joe 'Deke' Deacon
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
as Self (archive footage)
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
as Self (archive footage)
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
as Self (archive footage)
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
as Self (archive footage)
Giving Voice
as Self
Giving Voice
as Self
Denzel Washington: Reel Life
as Self
Denzel Washington: Reel Life
as Self
The Equalizer 2
as Robert McCall
The Equalizer 2
as Robert McCall
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
as Roman J. Israel
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
as Roman J. Israel
Chasing Trane
as John Coltrane (voice)
Chasing Trane
as John Coltrane (voice)
Fences
as Troy Maxson
Fences
as Troy Maxson
The Magnificent Seven
as Sam Chisolm
The Magnificent Seven
as Sam Chisolm
The Equalizer
as Robert McCall
The Equalizer
as Robert McCall
2 Guns
as Robert 'Bobby' Trench
2 Guns
as Robert 'Bobby' Trench
Flight
as Whip Whitaker
Flight
as Whip Whitaker
Safe House
as Tobin Frost
Safe House
as Tobin Frost
Unstoppable
as Frank Barnes
Unstoppable
as Frank Barnes
The Book of Eli
as Eli
The Book of Eli
as Eli
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
as Walter Garber
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
as Walter Garber
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
as Self
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
as Self
Fallen Empire: Making 'American Gangster'
as Self
Fallen Empire: Making 'American Gangster'
as Self
The Great Debaters
as Melvin B. Tolson
The Great Debaters
as Melvin B. Tolson
American Gangster
as Frank Lucas
American Gangster
as Frank Lucas
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
as Self
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
as Self
The Manchurian Candidate
as Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
The Manchurian Candidate
as Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'
as Self (archive)
People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'
as Self (archive)
Man on Fire
as John W. Creasy
Man on Fire
as John W. Creasy
Out of Time
as Matt Lee Whitlock
Out of Time
as Matt Lee Whitlock
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
as Self
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
as Self
Antwone Fisher
as Dr. Jerome Davenport
Antwone Fisher
as Dr. Jerome Davenport
Behind the Scenes of 'John Q'
as Self
Behind the Scenes of 'John Q'
as Self
Training Day
as Alonzo
Training Day
as Alonzo
Remember the Titans
as Coach Herman Boone
Remember the Titans
as Coach Herman Boone
Straight from the Streets
as Self
Straight from the Streets
as Self
The Bone Collector
as Lincoln Rhyme
The Bone Collector
as Lincoln Rhyme
The Hurricane
as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
The Hurricane
as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
The Siege
as Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
The Siege
as Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
He Got Game
as Jake Shuttlesworth
He Got Game
as Jake Shuttlesworth
Fallen
as John Hobbes
Fallen
as John Hobbes
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
as Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
as Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
The Preacher's Wife
as Dudley
The Preacher's Wife
as Dudley
Courage Under Fire
as Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
Courage Under Fire
as Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
Devil in a Blue Dress
as Easy Rawlins
Devil in a Blue Dress
as Easy Rawlins
Virtuosity
as Parker Barnes
Virtuosity
as Parker Barnes
Crimson Tide
as Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
Crimson Tide
as Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
as Self
The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
as Self
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
as Self (archive footage)
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
as Self (archive footage)
Philadelphia
as Joe Miller
Philadelphia
as Joe Miller
The Pelican Brief
as Gray Grantham
The Pelican Brief
as Gray Grantham
Much Ado About Nothing
as Don Pedro
Much Ado About Nothing
as Don Pedro
Malcolm X
as Malcolm X
Malcolm X
as Malcolm X
Rabbit Ears - Anansi
as Narrator (voice)
Rabbit Ears - Anansi
as Narrator (voice)
Mo' Better Blues
as Bleek Gilliam
Mo' Better Blues
as Bleek Gilliam
Glory
as Pvt. Trip
Glory
as Pvt. Trip
The Mighty Quinn
as Xavier Quinn
The Mighty Quinn
as Xavier Quinn
The George McKenna Story
as George McKenna
The George McKenna Story
as George McKenna
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
as Self
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
as Self
License to Kill
as Martin Sawyer
License to Kill
as Martin Sawyer
Here Comes the Flood
Here Comes the Flood