Biography of Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is an African American actor born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York, United States. His father was a Pentecostal minister and his mother, belonging to the Baptist Church, owned a beauty salon. Upon graduating from school, he initially thought about studying medicine but later decided to study journalism at Fordham University. During his time as a counselor at a summer camp, he decided to participate in a theatrical production, and from then on, he began to develop a passion for acting. Upon his return, he began taking acting classes with Professor Robinson Stone.

Debut as an actor

Later, he moved to San Francisco to study at the American Conservatory Theater. Denzel was not inexperienced, having studied intensively at the ACT. After leaving the conservatory, he returned to New York to look for work as an actor. His debut in film was in 1965, when he played a minor role in the movie The Cincinnati Kid, which was called The King of the Game in Spain. Later, in 1977, he starred in the movie Wilma. Fortunately, he got his first leading role in Carbon Copy. In 1987, Washington played the role of South African black activist Stephen Biko in the film Cry Freedom, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

During this period, films based on events that sought to narrate the struggle for civil rights of African Americans, or the lives of Black men and women, had Denzel’s participation, and he felt very honored to collaborate in them. He is a very committed actor to his community. In 1989, he played one of the lead roles in Glory, about the participation of African Americans in the American Civil War, and he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as a result.

1990 – Consolidation as one of the best actors.

Starting in the 90s, Denzel Washington became a critically acclaimed actor and was also placed alongside the great Eddie Murphy, as both were the most successful African American actors of the time. Alongside Spike Lee, he filmed the biographical movie Malcolm X (1992), about the life of this activist of the American black community who was assassinated in 1965. He then played Tom Hanks‘ defense attorney, who was fired from his company for contracting AIDS in the movie Philadelphia (1993). In the world of theater, one of the most significant works he participated in was Much Ado About Nothing (1993), directed by actor and director Kenneth Branagh.

Throughout the 90s, Denzel’s popularity was undeniable as he starred in numerous films, including:

• The Pelican Brief (1993)
• Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
• Crimson Tide (1995)
• Courage Under Fire (1996)
• Fallen (1998)
• The Siege (1998)
• The Bone Collector (1999), a story about a paralyzed police officer investigating a series of murders.
• The Hurricane (1999). This film marked a change in his career, as he played boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who was the victim of a racist police setup and spent 22 years in prison despite being innocent. Many years before, his story had inspired a famous Bob Dylan song.

Throughout his career, Denzel Washington has participated in commercial films, such as some in the action genre directed by Tony Scott. However, despite the changes in the world of cinema and the turn of the century, Denzel has remained one of the most highly regarded actors, characterized by his interpretive ability. Among his recent films, we highlight:

• Training Day (2001), which earned him an Oscar for Best Leading Actor
  . It is worth noting that this award marked a milestone, as no African American actor had won it since the days of Sidney Poitier.
• John Q (2001)
• As a curious fact, he made his directorial debut in 2002 with the drama Antwone Fisher.
• He starred in Out of Time (2003)
• The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
• Inside Man (2006)
• Déjà vu (2006)
• American Gangster (2007)
• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
• Unstoppable (2010)
• Flight (2012).

In The Safe House (2012), he starred alongside Ryan Reynolds. He then acted in 2 Guns (2013). In 2014, Denzel participated in several productions, one of which was The Equalizer (2014), a film co-starring Chloe Grace Moretz. Two years later, he played one of The Magnificent Seven (2016) and directed Fences, a film in which he also starred. Some years later, he was again nominated for the Oscar Award for his portrayal of an idealistic and driven defense attorney whose life is turned upside down when his mentor, a civil rights icon, dies. The movie is called Roman J. Israel, Esq, written and directed by Dan Gilroy. In addition to the Oscar nomination, Washington was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his work.