Global InformationDenzel Washington on screen and stage information
Denzel Washington is an American actor known for his performance on stage and screen.
Washington made his feature film debut in Carbon Copy (1981).[1] In 1982, Washington made his first appearance in the medical drama St. Elsewhere as Dr. Philip Chandler. The role proved to be the breakthrough in his career.[2][3] He starred as Private First Class Melvin Peterson in the drama A Soldier's Story (1984). The film was an adaptation of the Off-Broadway play A Soldier's Play (1981–1983) in which Washington had earlier portrayed the same character.[4]
He has since gained recognition as one of the greatest actors in the 21st century.[5] Washington went on to win two Academy Awards, his first for Best Supporting Actor as a former slave-turned-soldier in Civil War film Glory (1989)[6][7] and his second for Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day (2001).[8][9] By virtue of his win, he became the first African American actor to win two competitive Academy Awards, and the first since Sidney Poitier in 1964 to win the leading actor award.[10][11] His other Oscar-nominated roles were in Cry Freedom (1987),[12] Malcolm X (1992),[13] The Hurricane (1999),[14] Flight (2012),[15] Fences (2016),[16] Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017),[17] and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).[18]
Washington also established himself as a leading man in Hollywood acting in films such as the Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues (1990), the romantic drama Mississippi Masala (1991), Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing (1993), the thriller The Pelican Brief (1993), the AIDS drama Philadelphia (1993), the action thriller Crimson Tide (1995), the war drama Courage Under Fire (1996), the sports drama Remember the Titans (2000), the action thriller Man on Fire (2004), the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the crime thrillers Inside Man (2006), and American Gangster (2007). He has starred in the action thriller The Equalizer franchise (2014-2023) and has directed films such as Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), and Fences (2016)
He has also asserted himself onstage acting in The Public Theatre productions of William Shakespeare's tragedies Coriolanus (1979), and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990). He made his Broadway debut in Checkmates (1988). He went on to win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for playing Troy Maxson in the August Wilson play Fences (2010). His other Broadway roles include Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (2005), Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (2018), the later of which earned him another Tony Award nomination.[19] He is set to return to Broadway in the 2025 revival of Shakepeare's Othello playing the title role.[20]
- ^ Cohen, David S. (October 31, 2007). "BAFTA Honors Denzel Washington". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ Hazlett, Courtney (September 18, 2012). "Denzel Washington opens up about friend Whitney Houston's addiction". Today. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "Denzel Washington: His Life and Career in Pictures". The Hollywood Reporter. October 31, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ Van Gelder, Laawrence (September 14, 1984). "A Soldier s Story (1984) Film: 'Soldier's Story'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century". The New York Times. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Collins, Glenn (December 28, 1989). "Denzel Washington Takes a Defiant Break From Clean-Cut Roles". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "Denzel Washington Wins Oscar for 'Glory': Academy Awards: He is named best supporting actor for role in Civil War drama about black soldiers". Los Angeles Times. March 27, 1990. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (October 5, 2001). "Training Day Movie Review & Film Summary". Roger Ebert. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "The 74th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 12, 2015.
- ^ "Unforgettable Oscar Moments". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ Susman, Gary (March 27, 2002). "Did you notice all of Oscar night's firsts?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ "The 60th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ "1993 Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 7, 2000). "The Hurricane Movie Review & Film Summary (2000)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ Simmons, Russell (November 5, 2012). "Russell Simmons on Denzel Washington's 'Flight': 'Don't Boycott, Take Your Friends'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ "2017 Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "2018 Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (February 8, 2022). "Denzel Washington's Best Actor Nomination For The Tragedy of Macbeth Is His Tenth Making Him The Most Nominated Black Actor In Oscar History". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ "2018 Tony Award Nominations: SpongeBob SquarePants and Mean Girls Lead the Pack". Playbill. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal to Star in Othello on Broadway". Broadway.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.