Denzel Washington (born on 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 best actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Academy Awards, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (released in 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington also acted in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (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* (in 2016). On stage, he has performed in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater in New York. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (1988). He earned the Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of the play *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also starred 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).