Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times declaring him the best actor of the 21st century in 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 Emmys and a Grammy. He has been awarded the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Academy Awards, his first for Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (released in 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). As a major leading actor, Washington also acted in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (from 2016). In live theater, 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* (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 *Fences* by August Wilson (released in 2010). He has also appeared in the Broadway revivals of Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Hansberry's *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and O'Neill's *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).