Denzel Washington (born on 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 considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with a declaration from The New York Times naming him the top actor of the 21st century in 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for Emmys and a Grammy. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). Following his training at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He was first recognized widely in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War 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* (in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). As a major leading actor, Washington starred in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (released in 2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has acted in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of the play *Fences* by August Wilson (released in 2010). He has also starred in the Broadway revivals of the plays *Julius Caesar* (2005), *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).