Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born 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 a declaration from The New York Times naming him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has been awarded the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, starring in off-Broadway shows. He was first recognized widely in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (from 1982 to 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for Supporting Actor for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for the Best Actor category for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (released in 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (released in 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington appeared in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (2016). On stage, Washington has appeared in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater in New York. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He earned the 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 (2010). He has also starred 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).