Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington
Washington in 2018
Born	Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (1954-12-28) December 28, 1954 (age 69) Mount Vernon, New York, U.S.
Education	Fordham University (BA) American Conservatory Theater
Occupations	Actor director producer
Years active	1975–present
Works	Full list
Spouse	Pauletta Pearson ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	4, including John David
Awards	Full list
Honors	Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his versatile work spanning over four decades of screen and stage, he has been regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times naming him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020.^[1] Washington has received a number of honors, including two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award and AFI Life Achievement Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

After training at the American Conservatory Theater, 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). Nominated for ten Academy Awards, he won Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in Glory (1989) and Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in Training Day (2001).^[2] A prominent leading man, Washington has also starred in a number of other films, including Mo' Better Blues (1990), Mississippi Masala (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Courage Under Fire (1996), Remember the Titans (2000), Man on Fire (2004), Inside Man (2006), and American Gangster (2007). He starred in The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023). Washington directed and starred in the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), and Fences (2016).

Washington made his Broadway debut in Checkmates (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for starring in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences in 2010. He later directed, produced, and starred in the film adaptation in 2016. Washington has since returned to Broadway in the revivals of Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun (2014) and the Eugene O'Neill play The Iceman Cometh (2018).