Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Known for his dramatic roles 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 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. He received the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He was first recognized widely in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (1989) and his second for the role of Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). A renowned leading man, Washington also acted in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (2016). In theater, Washington has appeared in performances of *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disheartened blue-collar father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play *Fences* (released in 2010). He has also appeared in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Lorraine Hansberry's play *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).