Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Recognized for his powerful performances on stage and screen, he is considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times calling him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, 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. He has been awarded the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Following his training at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, starring in off-Broadway shows. He was first recognized widely in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (1984). He won two Oscars, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for the role of Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington also acted in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (released in 2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (from 2016). In theater, he has performed in productions of both Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990) at The Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (1988). He won the 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 the play *Fences* by August Wilson (released in 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).