Denzel Washington (born on 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 The New York Times declaring him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, 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 (2016), 2019 AFI Life Achievement Award, and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War 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* (in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). A renowned leading man, Washington also acted in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (2014–2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (2016). On stage, he has acted 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* (released in 1988). He earned the Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disheartened blue-collar father in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (2010). He has also acted 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).