Denzel Washington (born on 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 considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times declaring him the best actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Over his career he has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for Emmys and a Grammy. He has been awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He was first recognized widely in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (1984). He won two Oscars, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (from 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (released in 2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). As a major leading actor, Washington appeared in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (released from 2014 to 2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (from 2007), and *Fences* (from 2016). In live theater, he has performed in performances of *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* (1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disheartened blue-collar father in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also appeared in the Broadway revivals of the plays *Julius Caesar* (2005), *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).