Forest Whitaker
Acting
Born: July 15, 1961 (age 65) · Longview, Texas, USA
Highest Rated
Biography
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021). He has also appeared in blockbusters, such as Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) as Saw Gerrera, and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. For his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland (2006), Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whitaker made his directorial debut with the television film Strapped (1993), and directed the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004). Apart from his film career, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. In 2011, he was inducted as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, later receiving a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.
Known for
Black Panther
2018
Arrival
2016
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
Taken 3
2014
Southpaw
2015
Panic Room
2002
Platoon
1986
Phone Booth
2003
Criminal Minds
2005
The Butler
2013
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987
The Last Stand
2013
Photos (5)
Movies (108)
Black Panther
Zuri
Arrival
Colonel Weber
Taken 3
Inspector Frank Dotzler
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Saw Gerrera
Southpaw
Titus 'Tick' Wills
Platoon
Big Harold
Panic Room
Burnham
Bloodsport
Rawlins
Havoc
Lawrence Beaumont
Species
Dan Smithson, Empath
Street Kings
Captain Jack Wander
The Last Stand
Agent John Bannister
Phone Booth
Captain Ramey
Where the Wild Things Are
Ira (voice)
Good Morning, Vietnam
Edward Garlick
Phenomenon
Nate Pope
Sorry to Bother You
First Equisapien / Demarius
Repo Men
Jake
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog
The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin
Out of the Furnace
Chief Wesley Barnes
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Charles Jefferson
The King of Kings
Peter (voice)
The Color of Money
Amos
Big George Foreman
Doc Broadus
Blown Away
Anthony Franklin
Johnny Handsome
Dr. Steven Fisher
Vantage Point
Howard Lewis
The Butler
Cecil Gaines
The Great Debaters
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
How It Ends
Tom
First Daughter
Narrator (voice)
Powder Blue
Charlie
Battlefield Earth
Ker
City of Lies
Jack Jackson
Catch.44
Ronny
Everyone's Hero
Lonnie Brewster (voice)
Dope
The Narrator (voice)
Prêt-à-Porter
Cy Bianco
The Crying Game
Jody
Respect
C. L. Franklin
Body Snatchers
Major Collins
The Experiment
Barris
Consenting Adults
David Duttonville
Stakeout
Det. Jack Pismo
Smoke
Cyrus Cole
Zulu
Ali Sokhela
Freelancers
Dennis Larue
Pawn
Will
Even Money
Clyde Snow
The Air I Breathe
Happiness
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Forest Whitaker
Mr. Holland's Opus
Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Winged Creatures
Charlie Archenault
A Dark Truth
Francisco Francis
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Jeronicus Jangle
Body Count
Crane
Vision Quest
Balldozer
Bird
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Jason's Lyric
Maddog
Diary of a Hitman
Dekker
Downtown
Dennis Curren
Article 99
Dr. Sid Handleman
Two Men in Town
William Garnett
A Rage in Harlem
Jackson
A Little Trip to Heaven
Abe Holt
Hurricane Season
Al Collins
Finding Steve McQueen
Howard Lambert
My Own Love Song
Joey
The Forgiven
Desmond Tutu
Mary
Ted Younger
The Enemy Within
Col. MacKenzie Casey
Tag: The Assassination Game
Gowdy's Bodyguard
The Fourth Angel
Agent Jules Bernard
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Our Family Wedding
Brad Boyd
The Marsh
Geoffrey Hunt
Light It Up
Officer Dante Jackson
American Gun
Carter
Bank Robber
Officer Battle
Serving Life
Narrator (voice)
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Mr. Rucker
Black Nativity
Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Ripple Effect
Philip
Food Chains
2014
Feast of All Saints
Daguerreotypist Picard
Witness Protection
Steven Beck
The Follow
The Employer
Repentance
Angel
Green Dragon
Addie
Last Light
Fred Whitmore
Burden
Reverend Kennedy
Lush Life
Buddy Chester
Lullaby for Pi
George
Four Dogs Playing Poker
Mr. Ellington
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Lion
Hands of a Stranger
Sergeant Delaney
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
Narrator
Deacons for Defense
Marcus Clay
Criminal Justice
Jessie Williams
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
2013
The Paperboy
Narrator
Prophets of Change
Narrator
Rising from Ashes
Narrator
Odyssey in Rome
2005
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
Narrator (voice)
Mysteries of the Unseen World
Narrator
TV Shows (20)
Criminal Minds
Sam Cooper · 1 eps
American Dad!
Turlington (voice) · 3 eps
ER
Curtis Ames · 4 eps
The Shield
Jon Kavanaugh · 13 eps
Hill Street Blues
1 eps
Andor
Saw Gerrera · 5 eps
Star Wars Rebels
Saw Gerrera (voice) · 4 eps
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1 eps
Cagney & Lacey
Night Manager · 1 eps
Empire
Eddie Barker · 11 eps
Godfather of Harlem
Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson · 40 eps
North and South
Cuffey · 8 eps
Amazing Stories
Jerry · 1 eps
Extrapolations
Auggie Bolo · 1 eps
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Sam Cooper · 13 eps
Roots
Fiddler · 4 eps
The Emperor of Ocean Park
Judge Oliver Garland · 10 eps
The Hire
The Employer · 1 eps
Diff'rent Strokes
1 eps
Star Wars: Go Rogue
Saw Gerrera (voice) · 4 eps
Self / Appearances (36)
The Daily Show
Self · 1 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · 1 eps
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Self · 1 eps
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest · 2 eps
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self · 1 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self · 1 eps
American Idol
Self · 1 eps
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · 1 eps
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 1 eps
Today
Self · 1 eps
Steve
Self · 1 eps
The Twilight Zone
Self - Host · 43 eps
Live from E!
Self · 1 eps
Hollywood Black
Self · 4 eps
The Early Show
Self · 1 eps
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
Self · 9 eps
My Generation
Self - Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo
Self (archive footage)
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
Self · 4 eps
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Cannes Festival
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
Self
Inside the Actors Studio
Self · 1 eps
A Man's Story
Self
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self
Before the Music Dies
Self - Narrator (voice)
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
Self
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
Self
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
Self
Shooting 'Panic Room'
Self
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
Self
Seaweed Stories
Self - Narrator (voice)
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
Self
Directing (4)
Producing (28)
Godfather of Harlem
Executive Producer
Sorry to Bother You
Producer
Hollywood Black
Executive Producer
First Daughter
Executive Producer
Powder Blue
Producer
Dope
Producer
Fruitvale Station
Producer
Monte Carlo
Executive Producer
Fancy Dance
Executive Producer
Passing
Producer
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
Executive Producer
A Rage in Harlem
Co-Producer
Chasing Papi
Producer
Roxanne Roxanne
Producer
American Gun
Executive Producer
Serving Life
Executive Producer
Ripple Effect
Executive Producer
Door to Door
Co-Executive Producer
Transplant
Producer
Lucky Lu
Executive Producer
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Producer
Green Dragon
Executive Producer
Devil's Pie: D'Angelo
Producer
Rising from Ashes
Executive Producer
To Live and Die and Live
Producer
A Kid from Coney Island
Executive Producer
For the Sake of Peace
Producer
Kassim the Dream
Producer
