Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is a celebrated American actor, producer, and filmmaker. Famed for his dramatic roles in film and theater, he is often seen as one of the top actors of his generation, with a declaration from The New York Times naming him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, 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 in 2022. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He first came to prominence in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (from 1982 to 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* (from 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). A renowned leading man, Washington appeared in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, Washington has appeared in productions of both 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* (1988). He earned the Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of the play *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).