Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor who also works as a producer and director. Famed for his dramatic roles in film and theater, he is considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times calling him the top actor of the 21st century in 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. He has been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (from 1982 to 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 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 cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). As a major leading actor, Washington starred in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (released in 2007), and the *Equalizer* films (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). On stage, Washington has appeared in productions like *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* (in 1988). He won 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* (from 2010). He has also starred 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).