Denzel Washington
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).[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]
