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Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Highest Rated: 100% Giving Voice (2020)

Lowest Rated: 10% Heart Condition (1990)

Birthday: Dec 28, 1954

Birthplace: Mount Vernon, New York, USA

A powerful presence in features since the mid-1980s, Oscar winner Denzel Washington has plumbed the inner depths of such formidable figures as Malcolm X, Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, drug dealer Frank Lucas and Stephen Biko, as well as a slew of heavyweight fictional characters in "Training Day" (2001), "Flight" (2012), "Fences" (2016) and "Roman J. Israel, Esq." (2017). Born Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York on December 28, 1954, he was one of two sons by a Pentecostal minister father and a mother who owned a beauty shop. Though he had appeared in a talent show while in elementary school, performing was not consideration until his college years. Sports dominated his interest while at Oakland Military Academy and later, Mainland High School in Florida. From there, he enrolled at Fordham University, but took a semester off to decide on his future plans. While working as a creative director at a camp in Connecticut, a friend suggested that he might consider acting as a career; Washington then returned to Fordham, where he earned a degree in drama and journalism, and logged a year at the American Conservatory Theater in California before returning to New York to make his way as a professional actor. Roles in Maryland summer stock preceded his television acting debut in "Wilma" (NBC, 1977), about Olympic sprinter Wilma Rudolph. After making his feature film debuti in the comedy "Carbon Copy" (1981), Washington netted a Ensemble Performance Obie as part of the cast of A Soldier's Play. His breakout role came the following year when he was cast as the determined physician Philip Chandler on "St. Elsewhere" (NBC, 1982-88). He then reprised his Off-Broadway role in "A Soldier' Story" (1984), and worked steadily in television and features before drawing universal acclaim for his performance as South African activist Stephen Biko in Richard Attenborough's "Cry Freedom" (1987). Washington won an Oscar nomination for his intense performance, and two years later captured the Academy Award as an African-American soldier in the Union Army in "Glory" (1989). Now minted as a bona fide leading man with back-to-back Oscar successes, Washington began a long and fruitful period of screen work, beginning in 1990 with "Mo' Better Blues," a story set in the jazz world by writer/director Spike Lee. The pair would reunite in 1992 for "Malcolm X," an epic biography of the civil rights leader that brought Washington another Oscar nomination for Best Actor. After displaying his theatrical talents as Don Pedro in Kenneth Branagh's colorblind production of "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), Washington starred as a lawyer defending Tom Hanks, who had lost his job due to the AIDS virus, in Jonathan Demme's critically acclaimed "Philadelphia" (1993). Feature assignments opposite Julia Roberts in "The Pelican Brief" (1996), Gene Hackman in "Crimson Tide" and Whitney Houston in "The Preacher's Wife" (1996) preceded his third collaboration with Lee on "He Got Game" (1998), with Washington as an incarcerated father who hoped to influence his son to sign with a major basketball college. The following year, his powerful turn as wrongly imprisoned boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in "The Hurricane" (1999) made Washington the first African-American actor to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama since 1963. His streak of solid performances in memorable roles continued into the new millennium when he won his second Oscar for "Training Day" (2001), Antone Fuqua's gritty police drama with Washington as a hotwired corrupt Los Angeles detective. He then made his feature directorial debut with "Antwone Fisher" (2002), with Derek Luke as a real-life Navy seaman who fought to overcome a troubled past with the help of a military doctor (played by Washington). A modest but well-reviewed effort, it preceded a long period of minor successes for Washington, including the action-thrillers "Out of Time" (2003) and Tony Scott's "Man on Fire" (2004), Demme's ill-advised remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" (2004) with Washington in Frank Sinatra's role, as well a crime thriller with Lee called "Inside Man" (2006) and a 2009 remake of "The Taking of Pelham 123." More to form was Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" (2007), with Washington as notorious drug trafficker Frank Lucas; he also found time to direct a second feature, "The Great Debaters" in 2007. After the success of "Gangster,"Washington returned to the stage for a Broadway revival of August Wilson's Fences, opposite Viola Davis, which netted him a Tony Award for Best Actor. He then returned to features, though again in minor genre efforts like the post-apocalyptic "Book of Eli" (2010) and "Unstoppable"(2010) for Tony Scott. But "Flight" (2012), about an alcoholic airline pilot who rescued a plane from crashing, brought him an Oscar nomination, and he scored back-to-back box office hits with a pair of remakes for director Antone Fuqua: "The Equalizer" (2014), based on the popular CBS action series, drew substantive box office returns, while his starring role in a remake of "The Magnificent Seven" in 2016. Between these efforts, Washington also scored a stage success with a Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun, which won the 2014 Tony. He then returned to the director's chair for a film version of "Fences" (2016), which earned him both the Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. The following year, Washington's performance as an unorthodox lawyer in Dan Gilroy's "Roman J. Israel, Esq." (2017) brought a ninth Oscar nomination and sixth for Best Actor, as well as acting nods from the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild.

Highest rated movies

100% 67% Giving Voice 95% 93% Glory 92% 75% The Tragedy of Macbeth 92% 75% Fences 92% 71% Devil in a Blue Dress
92% 64% Mississippi Masala
90% 86% Much Ado About Nothing
90% 82% A Soldier's Story

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gladiator II Macrinus (Character) - 2024
93% No Score Yet The Piano Lesson Producer - 2024
76% 94% The Equalizer 3 Robert McCall (Character),
Producer
$92.3M 2023
90% 85% Sidney Self - 2022
39% 95% A Journal for Jordan Director,
Producer
$6.4M 2021
92% 75% The Tragedy of Macbeth Lord Macbeth (Character) - 2021
45% 67% The Little Things Joe "Deke" Deacon (Character) $14.7M 2021
100% 67% Giving Voice Unknown (Character) - 2020
98% 72% Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Producer - 2020
52% 61% The Equalizer 2 Robert McCall (Character),
Producer
$102.0M 2018
55% 57% Roman J. Israel, Esq. Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Character),
Producer
$11.7M 2017
74% 76% Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary John Coltrane (Voice) $406.3K 2016
92% 75% Fences Troy Maxson (Character),
Director,
Producer
$57.6M 2016
64% 71% The Magnificent Seven Chisolm (Character) $93.4M 2016
61% 77% The Equalizer Robert McCall (Character),
Producer
$101.5M 2014
64% 66% 2 Guns Robert "Bobby" Trench (Character) $75.6M 2013
77% 75% Flight Whip Whitaker (Character) $93.7M 2012
53% 63% Safe House Tobin Frost (Character),
Executive Producer
$126.1M 2012
87% 72% Unstoppable Frank Barnes (Character) $81.6M 2010
47% 64% The Book of Eli Eli (Character),
Producer
$94.8M 2010
51% 52% The Taking of Pelham 123 Walter Garber (Character) $65.5M 2009
80% 86% The Great Debaters Mel Tolson (Character),
Director
$30.2M 2007
81% 89% American Gangster Frank Lucas (Character) $130.1M 2007
56% 73% Déjà Vu Doug Carlin (Character) $64.0M 2006
86% 85% Inside Man Keith Frazier (Character) $88.5M 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Merv Griffin Show - 40 of the Most Interesting People of Our Time Self - 2006
80% 63% The Manchurian Candidate Army Major Ben Marco (Character) $65.9M 2004
39% 89% Man on Fire Creasy (Character) $77.9M 2004
64% 58% Out of Time Marty Walsh (Character) $40.9M 2003
77% 86% Antwone Fisher Jerome Davenport (Character),
Director,
Producer
$21.1M 2002
26% 78% John Q John Q. Archibald (Character) $71.0M 2002
74% 89% Training Day Alonzo Harris (Character) $76.3M 2001
71% 93% Remember the Titans Coach Boone (Character) $115.8M 2000
83% 87% The Hurricane Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Character) $50.7M 1999
29% 63% The Bone Collector Lincoln Rhyme (Character) $66.5M 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Straight from the Streets Unknown (Character) - 1999
44% 53% The Siege Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard, Assistant Special Agent-in-charge FBI Counter-intelligence Task Force (Character) $40.9M 1998
80% 83% He Got Game Jake Shuttlesworth (Character) $21.6M 1998
40% 72% Fallen John Hobbes (Character) $25.2M 1998
62% 41% The Preacher's Wife Dudley (Character) $48.1M 1996
86% 66% Courage Under Fire Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling (Character) $59.0M 1996
32% 32% Virtuosity Lt. Parker Barnes (Character) $23.2M 1995
89% 84% Crimson Tide Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter, XO, USS Alabama (Character) $91.4M 1995
92% 71% Devil in a Blue Dress Ezekiel 'Easy' Rawlins (Character) $15.9M 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream Executive Producer - 1995
55% 61% The Pelican Brief Gray Grantham (Character) $100.7M 1993
81% 89% Philadelphia Joe Miller (Character) $76.0M 1993
90% 86% Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro of Aragon (Character) $22.5M 1993
88% 91% Malcolm X Malcolm X (Character) $47.1M 1992
74% 52% Ricochet Nick Styles (Character) $20.6M 1991
92% 64% Mississippi Masala Demetrius Williams (Character) $7.3M 1991
10% 34% Heart Condition Napoleon Stone (Character) $4.1M 1990
71% 75% Mo' Better Blues Bleek Gilliam (Character) $15.9M 1990
95% 93% Glory Pvt. Trip (Character) $25.5M 1989
89% 48% The Mighty Quinn Xavier Quinn (Character) $4.0M 1989
29% 28% For Queen and Country Reuben James (Character) $62.8K 1988
74% 87% Cry Freedom Steve Biko (Character) $4.9M 1987
No Score Yet 54% The George McKenna Story George McKenna (Character) - 1986
50% 44% Power Arnold Billing (Character) $3.1M 1986
No Score Yet 33% License to Kill Martin Sawyer (Character) - 1984
90% 82% A Soldier's Story Private First Class Peterson (Character) - 1984
No Score Yet 39% Carbon Copy Roger Porter (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet 40% Wilma Robert Eldridge (Character) - 1977

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Desus & Mero Guest 2022
No Score Yet 41% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2009 2014 2016-2018 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show Guest 2013-2014 2017 2022
No Score Yet 49% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2018 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet 20/20 Narrator 2020
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Guest 2014 2016-2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet Independent Lens Unknown (Voice) 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter Guest 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet Tavis Smiley Guest 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet 60 Minutes Guest 2016
84% 72% Grey's Anatomy Director 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Celebrated Self 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet 106 & Park Unknown (Character),
Guest
2012-2014
100% 90% Late Show With David Letterman Guest 2014
No Score Yet No Score Yet Larry King Now Guest 2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Ellen DeGeneres Show Guest 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lopez Tonight Guest 2010
31% No Score Yet The Jay Leno Show Guest 2010
No Score Yet 64% Family Guy Joe Miller (archive footage) (Guest Voice) 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child Unknown (Voice) 1995 1997
No Score Yet No Score Yet St. Elsewhere Dr. Phillip Chandler (Character) 1982-1988