Denzel Washington (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor who also works as a producer and director. Recognized for his powerful performances 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 best 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 one Grammy Award. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, with roles in off-Broadway productions. He was first recognized widely in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He won two Oscars, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama *Glory* (1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (in 1999), *Flight* (released in 2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). A renowned leading man, Washington appeared in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (in 1996), *Remember the Titans* (2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* films (released from 2014 to 2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has acted in performances of *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway for his role as a disillusioned father from the working class in the Broadway revival of *Fences* by August Wilson (released in 2010). He has also acted 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).