Denzel Washington

Discovering the stage

Denzel Washington grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, and found acting at Fordham University, where he studied journalism and drama. He then trained at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Early stage work in New York led to his first film roles and to television.

St. Elsewhere and the first Oscar

From 1982 to 1988 he played Dr. Phillip Chandler on the hospital drama St. Elsewhere, which made him a familiar face. On film he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Cry Freedom (1987) and won the award for Glory (1989).

In Philadelphia (1993) he played the lawyer who takes on Tom Hanks's case, a part that showed how well he could play a skeptic who changes his mind.

Training Day

Washington usually played principled heroes, so casting him as a corrupt Los Angeles detective in Training Day (2001) was a surprise. He won Best Actor, becoming only the second Black man to win the award, after Sidney Poitier in 1964. Both men were honored at the same ceremony in 2002, when Poitier received an honorary Oscar.

August Wilson and directing

Washington has directed several films, starting with Antwone Fisher (2002) and The Great Debaters (2007). He won a Tony Award in 2010 for the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences, opposite Viola Davis, then directed and starred in the 2016 film. He has continued to produce Wilson's plays for the screen, including Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) and The Piano Lesson (2024).

Record and honors

With nine acting nominations, from Cry Freedom to The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), Washington is among the most nominated actors of his generation and the most nominated Black actor in Oscar history. He received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016 and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 2019. Read the full story of his predecessor on our Sidney Poitier page.

Where to start

Watch Glory (1989) and Training Day (2001) for his two Oscar-winning roles, which show him as both a principled man and a dangerous one. Philadelphia (1993) pairs him with Tom Hanks, and Fences (2016) shows him as actor and director together, alongside Viola Davis. Malcolm X (1992) is often named as his greatest performance. His early stage training still shows in the way he handles long, rhythmic speeches.

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