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 The New York Times calling him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. He has been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He was first recognized widely in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (from 1982 to 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (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* (1989) and his second for the Best Actor category for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (in 2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington appeared in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (2016). In live 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* (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (2010). He has also starred 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).