Washington, Denzel
(Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.), 1954- , African-American actor, b. Mount
Vernon, N.Y., Fordham Univ. (B.A., 1977). Washington’s father was a
Pentecostal minister and his mother owned a beauty parlor; his parents
divorced when he was 14 years old. Following college, he spent one year at
the American Conservatory Theater’s graduate school in San Francisco
before returning to New York seeking a career in acting. He won an Obie
Award as a member of the ensemble in the Off-Broadway production of
A Soldier’s Play (1981) before landing a role in
the TV medical drama, St. Elsewhere (1982-88). He began his
movie career at the same time, appearing in the film adaptation of A
Soldier’s Story (1984) and portrayed Steven Biko in
Cry Freedom (1987). In the ‘90s, he began an
association with director Spike Lee, notably appearing in the title
role in the film Malcolm X (1992). He followed this with
1993’s AIDS drama, Philadelphia, the action-thriller
Crimson Tide (1995), and The Hurricane
(1999; Golden Globe Award, Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama, 2000), in which
he portrayed boxer Reuben “Hurricane” Carter. He followed with
more action films, including Training Day (2001, Academy
Award, best actor; he was only the second Black actor to receive this honor,
following Sidney Poitier). In 2010,
he returned to the stage in the revival of August Wilson’s
Fences, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Actor,
followed by A Raisin in the Sun (2014; Tony Award for Best
Revival of a Play); in 2016, he directed the film adaptation of
Fences.
See his A Hand to Guide Me (2006).
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