Denzel Washington is an American actor known for his performances on stage and screen as well as for his work as director and producer on the latter. Washington made his feature film debut in Carbon Copy (1981). 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. 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.
He has since gained recognition as one of the greatest actors in the 21st century. 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) and his second for Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). 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. His other Oscar-nominated roles were 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 also established himself as a leading man in Hollywood acting in films such as The Mighty Quinn (1989), 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 Theater 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. Washington returned to Broadway with the title role in the 2025 revival of Shakepeare's Othello.
Film Year Title Role Notes 1981 Carbon Copy1984 1986 Power1987Cry Freedom1988 For Queen and Country1989 Glory 1990 Heart Condition Mo' Better Blues1991 Mississippi Masala Ricochet1992 Malcolm X1993 Much Ado About Nothing Philadelphia1995 Crimson Tide Virtuosity Devil in a Blue Dress1996 Courage Under Fire Dudley1998 FallenHe Got Game 1999 2000Remember the Titans2001 Training Day2002John Q. Antwone FisherAlso director and producer2003 Out of Time2004 Man on Fire 2006 Inside ManDéjà Vu2007 American Gangster Also director2009 2010 Eli Also producer Unstoppable2012 Safe HouseFlight2013 2 Guns 2014 Also producer2016 FencesAlso director and producer2017Roman J. Israel, Esq.Also producer20182020Ma Rainey's Black BottomProducer only2021 Lord MacbethDirector and producer only 2023Also producer2024The Piano LessonProducer onlyGladiator IIMacrinus2025Highest 2 LowestDavid King2027CarterPost-production +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released
Television Year(s) TitleRole(s) Notes 1977Television film1979Flesh & BloodKirk 1982–1988St. Elsewhere118 episodes1984 License to Kill Television film1986 Also known as Hard Lessons; Television film1992 Great PerformancesNarratorEpisode: "Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway"Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War IINarratorDocumentary1995, 1997Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child / Humpty Dumpty / Crooked ManVoice, 2 episodes2013 NarratorDocumentary2016 Grey's Anatomy Director of episode: "The Sound of Silence"
Theatre Year(s) Production Role(s) Theater Notes 1979CoriolanusPerformerJoseph Papp Public Theater, Off-BroadwayJune 22 − July 221981When the Chickens Came Home to RoostMalcolm XNew Federal Theatre, Off-Broadway1981–1983Theatre Four, Off-BroadwayNov. 20, 1981 − Jan. 2, 19831988Checkmates46th Street Theatre, BroadwayAugust 4 − December 311990Richard III of EnglandJoseph Papp Public Theater, Off-BroadwayAugust 3 − September 22005Julius CaesarBelasco Theatre, BroadwayApril 3 − June 122010 FencesCort Theatre, BroadwayApril 26 − July 112014 Ethel Barrymore Theatre, BroadwayApril 3 − June 152018Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, BroadwayApril 26 − July 12025 OthelloOthelloEthel Barrymore Theatre, BroadwayFebruary 24 − June 6
See also List of awards and nominations received by Denzel Washington African-American Tony nominees and winners List of African-American actors List of black Academy Award winners and nominees List of actors with Academy Award nominations List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories List of black Golden Globe Award winners and nominees List of Golden Globe winners
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