Denzel Washington
Acting
Born: December 28, 1954 (age 71) · Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Highest Rated
Biography
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).
Known for
Grey's Anatomy
2005
The Equalizer
2014
The Book of Eli
2010
Training Day
2001
Flight
2012
The Magnificent Seven
2016
Inside Man
2006
American Gangster
2007
The Equalizer 2
2018
Man on Fire
2004
Déjà Vu
2006
Philadelphia
1993
Photos (24)
Movies (62)
The Equalizer
Robert McCall
The Magnificent Seven
Sam Chisolm
Gladiator II
Macrinus
The Equalizer 3
Robert McCall
Training Day
Alonzo
American Gangster
Frank Lucas
Man on Fire
John W. Creasy
The Equalizer 2
Robert McCall
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Book of Eli
Eli
Inside Man
Keith Frazier
Highest 2 Lowest
David King
Déjà Vu
Doug Carlin
John Q
John Quincy Archibald
Fallen
John Hobbes
Flight
Whip Whitaker
Remember the Titans
Coach Herman Boone
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Walter Garber
Crimson Tide
Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
Unstoppable
Frank Barnes
The Bone Collector
Lincoln Rhyme
The Little Things
Joe 'Deke' Deacon
Glory
Pvt. Trip
Philadelphia
Joe Miller
The Pelican Brief
Gray Grantham
Safe House
Tobin Frost
Malcolm X
Malcolm X
2 Guns
Robert 'Bobby' Trench
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Roman J. Israel
The Siege
Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
The Hurricane
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
The Manchurian Candidate
Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
Out of Time
Matt Lee Whitlock
Much Ado About Nothing
Don Pedro
Courage Under Fire
Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
The Great Debaters
Melvin B. Tolson
Fences
Troy Maxson
He Got Game
Jake Shuttlesworth
Ricochet
Nick Styles
Devil in a Blue Dress
Easy Rawlins
Virtuosity
Parker Barnes
Antwone Fisher
Dr. Jerome Davenport
Cry Freedom
Steve Biko
The Preacher's Wife
Dudley
Heart Condition
Napoleon Stone
A Soldier's Story
Private First Class Peterson
The Mighty Quinn
Xavier Quinn
Flesh & Blood
Kirk
Mo' Better Blues
Bleek Gilliam
Mississippi Masala
Demetrius Williams
Power
Arnold Billings
Carbon Copy
Roger Porter
The George McKenna Story
George McKenna
Coriolanus
Roman Soldier / Volscian Soldier
For Queen & Country
Reuben
License to Kill
Martin Sawyer
Chasing Trane
John Coltrane (voice)
Wilma
Robert Eldridge, age 18
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
Denzel Washington: Falling Forward
2025
Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway
Narrator (voice)
Rabbit Ears - John Henry
Narrator (voice)
TV Shows (6)
St. Elsewhere
Philip Chandler · 137 eps
American Experience
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
2 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
King Omar (voice) · 1 eps
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Humpty Dumpty / Crooked Man (voice) · 1 eps
Flesh & Blood
Kirk · 2 eps
Self / Appearances (52)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · 1 eps
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self · 6 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · 2 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 5 eps
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest · 2 eps
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self · 1 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self · 5 eps
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Great Performances
Self · 1 eps
CBS News Sunday Morning
Self · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Winner / Presenter · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · 3 eps
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Wogan
Self · 1 eps
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 9 eps
Today
Self · 2 eps
Number One on the Call Sheet
Self · 1 eps
Wetten, dass..?
Self · 2 eps
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Self · 2 eps
TRL
Self · 1 eps
Circus Halligalli
Self · 1 eps
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self - Honoree · 1 eps
Sidney
Self
The Early Show
Self - Guest · 2 eps
Val
Self (archive)
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Self
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self (archive footage)
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Self (archive footage)
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Self
People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'
Self (archive)
Fallen Empire: Making 'American Gangster'
Self
The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
Self
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Self
Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
Self (archive footage)
The Making of Gladiator II
Self
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Self
Giving Voice
Self
The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
Self
Behind the Scenes of 'John Q'
Self
NBA at 50
Self - Host
Live from Studio Five
Self · 1 eps
Denzel Washington: Reel Life
Self
Straight from the Streets
Self
Denzel Washington: American Icon
Self
Upcoming (2)
Directing (5)
Producing (12)
The Equalizer
Producer
The Equalizer 3
Producer
The Equalizer 2
Producer
The Book of Eli
Producer
Safe House
Executive Producer
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Producer
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Producer
A Journal for Jordan
Producer
Fences
Producer
Antwone Fisher
Producer
The Piano Lesson
Producer
Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks
Producer
