Denzel Washington (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Famed for his dramatic roles in film and theater, he is often seen as one of the top actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the top actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. He received the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, 2019 AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He first came to prominence in the medical drama *St. Elsewhere* on NBC (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for Supporting Actor for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt cop in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was received Oscar nominations for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (from 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (from 1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (from 2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). As a major leading actor, Washington also acted in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (in 2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (in 2006), *American Gangster* (released in 2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (from 2014 to 2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (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. His Broadway debut came in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of *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).