Denzel Washington (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor who also works as a producer and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is often seen as one of the top actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the best actor of the 21st century in 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award along with nominations in Emmys and a Grammy. He has been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He gained early fame in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (from 1982 to 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (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 law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (in 2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). As a major leading actor, Washington appeared in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* films (released from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has acted in performances of *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. His Broadway debut came in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (in 1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disheartened blue-collar father in the Broadway revival of the play *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also starred 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).