Denzel Washington (born on December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Recognized for his powerful performances on stage and screen, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times calling him the best actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). Following his training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, starring in off-Broadway shows. He first came to prominence in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for the role of Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (in 2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). As a major leading actor, Washington appeared in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (released from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (2016). In live theater, he has acted in performances of *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disillusioned father from the working class in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also appeared in the Broadway revivals of the plays *Julius Caesar* (2005), *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).