Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born on December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Famed for his dramatic roles in film and theater, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the greatest 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 as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He received the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). Following his training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He was first recognized widely in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War 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* (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (released in 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). As a major leading actor, Washington starred in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* films (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In live theater, he has acted in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of the plays *Julius Caesar* (2005), *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).