Acting
Denzel Washington
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).
Filmography
Black Panther 3
Film · 2028
Romare Bearden: A Life in Collage
Film · 2026
Highest 2 Lowest
Film · 2025
Denzel Washington: Falling Forward
Film · 2025
Number One on the Call Sheet
Series · 2025
Gladiator II
Film · 2024
Denzel Washington: American Icon
Film · 2024
The Making of Gladiator II
Film · 2024
The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
Film · 2024
Hollywood Black
Series · 2024
The Equalizer 3
Film · 2023
Sidney
Film · 2022
Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
Film · 2022
Whitney, a Look Back
Film · 2022
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Film · 2021
The Little Things
Film · 2021
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
Film · 2021
Val
Film · 2021
Giving Voice
Film · 2020
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Film · 2020
The Equalizer 2
Film · 2018
Denzel Washington: Reel Life
Film · 2018
Chasing Trane
Film · 2017
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Film · 2017
The Magnificent Seven
Film · 2016
Fences
Film · 2016
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Series · 2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Series · 2015
The Equalizer
Film · 2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Series · 2014
2 Guns
Film · 2013
Circus Halligalli
Series · 2013
Safe House
Film · 2012
Flight
Film · 2012
The Book of Eli
Film · 2010
Unstoppable
Film · 2010
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Film · 2009
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Film · 2009
Live from Studio Five
Series · 2009
Fallen Empire: Making 'American Gangster'
Film · 2008
American Gangster
Film · 2007
The Great Debaters
Film · 2007
The Graham Norton Show
Series · 2007
Inside Man
Film · 2006
Déjà Vu
Film · 2006
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Film · 2005
The Reichen Show
Series · 2005
Man on Fire
Film · 2004
The Manchurian Candidate
Film · 2004
People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'
Film · 2004
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Series · 2004
Parkinson
Series · 2004
Out of Time
Film · 2003
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Film · 2003
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Series · 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Series · 2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Series · 2003
John Q
Film · 2002
Antwone Fisher
Film · 2002
Behind the Scenes of 'John Q'
Film · 2002
Training Day
Film · 2001
Remember the Titans
Film · 2000
Straight from the Streets
Film · 2000
The Hurricane
Film · 1999
The Bone Collector
Film · 1999
The Early Show
Series · 1999
Fallen
Film · 1998
He Got Game
Film · 1998
The Siege
Film · 1998
TRL
Series · 1998
Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
Film · 1997
The View
Series · 1997
Courage Under Fire
Film · 1996
The Preacher's Wife
Film · 1996
NBA at 50
Film · 1996
Devil in a Blue Dress
Film · 1995
Crimson Tide
Film · 1995
Virtuosity
Film · 1995
The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
Film · 1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Series · 1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Series · 1995
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Film · 1994
A Century of Cinema
Film · 1994
Much Ado About Nothing
Film · 1993
The Pelican Brief
Film · 1993
Philadelphia
Film · 1993
Late Show with David Letterman
Series · 1993
Malcolm X
Film · 1992
Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
Film · 1992
Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway
Film · 1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Series · 1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Series · 1992
Ricochet
Film · 1991
Mississippi Masala
Film · 1991
Rabbit Ears - Anansi
Film · 1991
Heart Condition
Film · 1990
Mo' Better Blues
Film · 1990
Rabbit Ears - John Henry
Film · 1990
The Mighty Quinn
Film · 1989
Glory
Film · 1989
ZDF-Mittagsmagazin
Series · 1989
The George McKenna Story
Film · 1988
For Queen & Country
Film · 1988
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Film · 1988
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Series · 1988
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Series · 1988
American Experience
Series · 1988
Cry Freedom
Film · 1987
Power
Film · 1986
License to Kill
Film · 1986
A Soldier's Story
Film · 1984
Goldene Kamera
Series · 1984
St. Elsewhere
Series · 1982
Wogan
Series · 1982
Carbon Copy
Film · 1981
Wetten, dass..?
Series · 1981
Coriolanus
Film · 1979
Flesh & Blood
Film · 1979
CBS News Sunday Morning
Series · 1979
Flesh & Blood
Series · 1979
Wilma
Film · 1977
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Series · 1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Series · 1973
Great Performances
Series · 1971
Tony Awards
Series · 1956
Tony Awards
Series · 1956
Tony Awards
Series · 1956
The Oscars
Series · 1953
Today
Series · 1952
Golden Globe Awards
Series · 1944
Golden Globe Awards
Series · 1944
Here Comes the Flood
Film
American Gangster Special
Film
Untitled Hannibal Film
Film