Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born 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 The New York Times declaring 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 in addition to being nominated for Emmys and a Grammy. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched 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 has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington also acted in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). On stage, Washington has appeared in performances of *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. His Broadway debut came in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play *Fences* (released in 2010). He has also acted 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).