Denzel Washington Denzel Washington, born in 1954, American motion-picture, theater, and television actor, one of the major African American actors of the late 20th century.

Denzel Washington Denzel Washington, born in 1954, American motion-picture, theater, and television actor, one of the major African American actors of the late 20th century. Washington is widely respected for the intelligence he brings to his performances. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Washington studied drama and journalism at Fordham University (1973-1977) and trained at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California (1977-1978). He appeared in numerous stage plays, including those of English dramatist William Shakespeare, before making his motionpicture debut in the farce Carbon Copy (1981). Washington subsequently gained critical acclaim playing a small but crucial role in the praised drama A Soldier's Story (1984). He also gained wide popularity in his continuing role as the dignified, compassionate doctor Philip Chandler on the television drama St. Elsewhere (1982-1988). Handsome, articulate, and self-possessed, Washington declined to accept the stereotypical roles commonly offered to black actors. Instead, he established his screen persona playing martyrs to the cause of civil rights. He starred as murdered South African political leader Stephen Biko in Cry Freedom (1987); won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of a heroic Union soldier in the American Civil War (1861-1865) in the drama Glory (1989); and played the title role in Malcolm X (1992), based on the life of the black American civil rights leader Malcolm X and directed by American filmmaker Spike Lee. Washington's romantic appeal was used to advantage in Mo' Better Blues (1990), another Spike Lee film, and in Mississippi Masala (1991). In 1993 he starred in the hit thriller The Pelican Brief, the critically praised Much Ado About Nothing, and the drama Philadelphia, directed by American filmmaker Jonathan Demme. In 1995 Washington achieved great commercial success with his role in the suspense film Crimson Tide and appeared as a private detective in Devil in a Blue Dress. Later films include The Preacher's Wife (1996), with Whitney Houston, and He Got Game (1998), directed by Spike Lee. In The Hurricane (1999), based on a true story, he played Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a professional boxer who was convicted of murder and then freed years later after activists worked to prove his innocence. In 2000 Washington starred as a no-nonsense high school football coach who leads his racially mixed team to the state title in Remember the Titans. In Training Day (2001) Washington played a corrupt Los Angeles police officer, a performance that earned him an Academy Award for best actor. It was the first such honor for an African American actor since Sidney Poitier won for Lilies of the Field (1963). In 2002 Washington starred in the hostage drama John Q and made his directorial debut with Antwone Fisher. In 2004 he played a vengeance-seeking bodyguard in the child abduction thriller Man on Fire, and army major Ben Marco in the remake by Jonathan Demme of the classic Cold War thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Spike Lee then cast Washington as a New York City police detective who pits his wits against an English bank robber in the thriller Inside Man (2006). In 2007, for Ridley Scott, Washington played the Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas in American Gangster. Contributed By: Jacob Levich Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.