Denzel Washington (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor, 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 The New York Times calling him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He gained early fame in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (from 1982 to 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for the role of Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (from 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). A renowned leading man, Washington appeared in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (in 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* (2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In live theater, Washington has appeared in productions of both Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (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 August Wilson's play *Fences* (from 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).