
Denzel Washington
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










Credits
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Untitled Hannibal Project FutureHannibal Barca★ NR
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Black Panther 3 Future★ NR
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The Equalizer 4 FutureRobert McCall★ NR
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The Equalizer 5 FutureRobert McCall★ NR
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Here Comes the Flood Future★ NR
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The Ten Commandments Future★ NR
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FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY Future★ NR
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Highest 2 Lowest 2025David King★ 5.4
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Self★ 7
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Self★ NR
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Self★ 10
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Gladiator II 2024Macrinus★ 6.7
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Self★ 6.7
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The Equalizer 3 2023Robert McCall★ 7.3
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Sidney 2022Self★ 7.6
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Self (archive footage)★ 8.5
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Macbeth★ 6.9
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The Little Things 2021Joe 'Deke' Deacon★ 6.3
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Self (archive footage)★ 5
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Self (archive footage)★ 8.1
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Giving Voice 2020Self★ 6.4
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The Equalizer 2 2018Robert McCall★ 6.8
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Roman J. Israel★ 6.3
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Chasing Trane 2017John Coltrane (voice)★ 7.3
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Fences 2016Troy Maxson★ 6.9
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Sam Chisolm★ 6.5
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The Equalizer 2014Robert McCall★ 7.3
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2 Guns 2013Robert 'Bobby' Trench★ 6.5
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Flight 2012Whip Whitaker★ 6.8
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Safe House 2012Tobin Frost★ 6.5
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Unstoppable 2010Frank Barnes★ 6.6
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The Book of Eli 2010Eli★ 6.8
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Walter Garber★ 6.4
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Self★ NR
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The Great Debaters 2007Melvin B. Tolson★ 7.2
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American Gangster 2007Frank Lucas★ 7.6
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Déjà Vu 2006Doug Carlin★ 6.9
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Number 4 2006Self★ NR
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Inside Man 2006Keith Frazier★ 7.4
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Self★ 5
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Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco★ 6.5
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Man on Fire 2004John W. Creasy★ 7.5
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Out of Time 2003Matt Lee Whitlock★ 6.3
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Self★ 7.3
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Antwone Fisher 2002Dr. Jerome Davenport★ 6.9
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John Q 2002John Quincy Archibald★ 7.1
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Training Day 2001Alonzo★ 7.5
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Remember the Titans 2000Coach Herman Boone★ 7.6
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Self★ 6.5
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The Bone Collector 1999Lincoln Rhyme★ 6.8
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The Hurricane 1999Rubin "Hurricane" Carter★ 7.4
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The Siege 1998Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard★ 6.3
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TRL 1998Self★ 5.1
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He Got Game 1998Jake Shuttlesworth★ 6.7
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Fallen 1998John Hobbes★ 6.8
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Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)★ 6
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The Preacher's Wife 1996Dudley★ 5.8
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Courage Under Fire 1996Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling★ 6.5
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Easy Rawlins★ 6.5
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Virtuosity 1995Parker Barnes★ 5.5
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Crimson Tide 1995Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter★ 7.2
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King Omar (voice)★ 6
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Self★ NR
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Philadelphia 1993Joe Miller★ 7.7
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The Pelican Brief 1993Gray Grantham★ 6.6
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Don Pedro of Aragon★ 6.9
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Malcolm X 1992Malcolm X★ 7.5
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Narrator★ 5
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Narrator★ 8
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Ricochet 1991Nick Styles★ 6.1
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Mississippi Masala 1991Demetrius Williams★ 6.4
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Rabbit Ears - Anansi 1991Narrator (voice)★ NR
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Narrator (voice)★ NR
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Mo' Better Blues 1990Bleek Gilliam★ 6.5
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Heart Condition 1990Napoleon Stone★ 5.6
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Glory 1989Pvt. Trip★ 7.5
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The Mighty Quinn 1989Xavier Quinn★ 6.1
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American Experience 1988Self - Narrator★ 7.4
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George McKenna★ 6.2
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For Queen & Country 1988Reuben★ 5.3
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Cry Freedom 1987Steve Biko★ 7
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License to Kill 1986Martin Sawyer★ 5.7
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Power 1986Arnold Billings★ 5.9
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A Soldier's Story 1984Private First Class Peterson★ 6.8
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St. Elsewhere 1982Philip Chandler★ 5.6
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Carbon Copy 1981Roger Porter★ 5.7
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Flesh & Blood 1979Kirk★ 5.5
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Coriolanus 1979Roman Soldier / Volscian Soldier★ 3.5
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Wilma 1977Robert Eldridge, age 18★ 6.3
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Self★ 6.3
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Great Performances 1971Self★ 5.5
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Tony Awards 1956Self - Nominee★ 5.9
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The Oscars 1953Self★ 7