Denzel Washington biography
Denzel Washington is an American actor (born 1954), born on 28 December 1954 in Mount Vernon.
Denzel Washington's screen career began in 1977 with Wilma: The Wilma Rudolph Story, playing Robert Eldridge , age 18.
Denzel Washington has appeared in 60 films and 10 television or streaming titles.
The most recent films are Highest 2 Lowest (2025), Gladiator II (2024), The Piano Lesson (2024).
Honours include Donostia Award, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Academy Award for Best Actor.
Coming up next: The Take (2027).
- Also known as
- Denzel Washington, Jr., Denzel Washington Jr.
- Born
- 28 December 1954 (age 71)
- Birthplace
- Mount Vernon
- Work
- Film director, Film producer, Film actor, Stage actor, Television actor
- Film industries
- Hollywood and beyond
- Years active
- 1975 to present
- Awards
- Donostia Award
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Academy Award for Best Actor
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
- MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
- Horatio Alger Award
Denzel Washington filmography
61 films and 10 television or streaming titles, newest first.
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | The Take | Carter | Post-production | |
| 2025 | Highest 2 Lowest | David King | ||
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Macrinus | ||
| 2024 | The Piano Lesson | , N/a | Producer only | |
| 2023 | The Equalizer 3 | Robert McCall | Also producer | |
| 2021 | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Lord Macbeth | ||
| 2021 | The Little Things | Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon | ||
| 2021 | A Journal for Jordan | , N/a | Director and producer only | |
| 2020 | Ma Rainey's Black Bottom | , N/a | Producer only | |
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Robert McCall | Also producer | |
| 2017 | Roman J. Israel, Esq | Roman J. Israel | Also producer | |
| 2016 | Fences | Troy Maxson | Also director and producer | |
| 2016 | The Magnificent Seven | Sam Chisolm | ||
| 2014 | The Equalizer | Robert McCall | Also producer | |
| 2014 | Once in a Lifetime | French | ||
| 2014 | Champs | English | ||
| 2013 | 2 Guns | Robert "Bobby" Trench | ||
| 2012 | Safe House | Tobin Frost | ||
| 2012 | Flight | William "Whip" Whitaker Sr. | ||
| 2010 | Unstoppable | Frank Barnes | ||
| 2010 | The Book of Eli | Eli | Also producer | |
| 2009 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Walter Garber | ||
| 2007 | American Gangster | Frank Lucas | ||
| 2007 | The Great Debaters | Melvin B. Tolson | Also director | |
| 2006 | Inside Man | Keith Frazier |
Show all 61 films
| Year | Title | Role | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Déjà Vu | Doug Carlin | ||
| 2004 | Man on Fire | John W. Creasy | ||
| 2004 | The Manchurian Candidate | Maj. Ben Marco | ||
| 2003 | Out of Time | Matt Lee Whitlock | ||
| 2002 | Antwone Fisher | Dr. Jerome Davenport | Also director and producer | |
| 2002 | John Q | John Quincy Archibald | ||
| 2001 | Training Day | Detective Alonzo Harris | ||
| 2000 | Remember the Titans | Herman Boone | ||
| 1999 | The Hurricane | Rubin Carter | ||
| 1999 | The Bone Collector | Lincoln Rhyme | ||
| 1998 | He Got Game | Jake Shuttlesworth | ||
| 1998 | Fallen | Detective John Hobbes | ||
| 1998 | The Siege | Anthony Hubbard | ||
| 1996 | The Preacher's Wife | Dudley | ||
| 1996 | Courage Under Fire | Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Sterling | ||
| 1995 | Virtuosity | Lt. Parker Barnes | ||
| 1995 | Crimson Tide | Lt. Commander Ron Hunter | ||
| 1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Easy Rawlins | ||
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | English | ||
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Gray Grantham | ||
| 1993 | Philadelphia | Joe Miller | ||
| 1993 | Much Ado About Nothing | Don Pedro of Aragon | ||
| 1992 | Malcolm X | Malcolm X | ||
| 1991 | Mississippi Masala | Demetrius Williams | ||
| 1991 | Ricochet | Nick Styles | ||
| 1990 | Heart Condition | Napoleon Stone | ||
| 1990 | Mo' Better Blues | Bleek Gilliam | ||
| 1989 | Glory | Private Silas Trip | ||
| 1989 | The Mighty Quinn | Xavier Quinn | ||
| 1988 | For Queen and Country | Reuben James | ||
| 1987 | Cry Freedom | Steve Biko | ||
| 1986 | Power | Arnold Billings | ||
| 1984 | A Soldier's Story | Private First Class Melvin Peterson | ||
| 1981 | Carbon Copy | Roger Porter | ||
| 1979 | Coriolanus | English | ||
| 1977 | Wilma | English |
Television and streaming
| Year | Title | Role | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Grey's Anatomy | , N/a | Director of episode: "The Sound of Silence" | |
| 2013 | The March | Narrator | Documentary | |
| 1995 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | King Omar / Humpty Dumpty / Crooked Man | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 1992 | Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II | Narrator | Documentary | |
| 1992 | Great Performances | Narrator | Episode: "Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway" | |
| 1986 | The George McKenna Story | George McKenna | Also known as Hard Lessons; Television film | |
| 1984 | License to Kill | Martin Sawyer | Television film | |
| 1982 | St. Elsewhere | Dr. Philip Chandler | 118 episodes | |
| 1979 | Flesh & Blood | Kirk | Television film | |
| 1977 | Wilma: The Wilma Rudolph Story | Robert Eldridge , age 18 | Television film |