Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Recognized for his powerful performances on stage and screen, he is considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with a declaration from The New York Times naming him the best actor of the 21st century in the year 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 Emmys and a Grammy. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), 2019 AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He first came to prominence in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 1984). He won two Academy Awards, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). As a major leading actor, Washington appeared in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 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 both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has performed in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater in New York. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He earned the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 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 Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Hansberry's *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and O'Neill's *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).