Denzel Washington (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 considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times calling him the greatest actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, starring in off-Broadway shows. He was first recognized widely in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for the Best Actor category for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). As a major leading actor, Washington also acted in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (in 2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (2016). On stage, Washington has appeared in performances of *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* (released in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disillusioned father from the working class in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play *Fences* (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).