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Biography
Washington in John Q (2002)
Denzel Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Early career
3 1990s
4 2000s
5 Private life
6 Selected filmography
7 Academy Awards and nominations
8 External links
8.1 Interviews
8.2 Web sites
9 Notes
Early life
Washington was born in Mount Vernon, New York to African-American parents; he has an older sister, Lorice, and a younger brother. Although his father, Dillwyn, Virginia-born Reverend Denzel Washington, was an ordained Pentecostal minister, he worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein". His mother, Lennis, a beauty parlor owner, was born in Georgia and raised in Harlem. Washington was banned from watching movies by his parents, who divorced when he was fourteen. He subsequently went through a rebellious stage, at the end of which several of his friends were sentenced to prison. His mother's reaction to his behavioral problems was to send him to preparatory school, and later on to Fordham University, where he discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism.
Early career
Washington's first film role in the 1975 made-for-television movie, Wilma. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor theatrical films and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed slave in the film Glory.
1990s
Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly-acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film, Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "[Denzel] felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough". However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with caucasian actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
2000s
In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, which was considered a change of pace for Washington, as he played a villainous character after many roles as a heroic lead. After appearing in 2002's box office success, the Health Care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire and The Manchurian Candidate. His upcoming film, Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, is scheduled to open on March 24, 2006. He is currently in New Orleans for the filming of the upcoming film "Deja Vu".
Private life
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now "Pauletta Washington"), whom he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma; the couple has four children, John David (b. 1984), Katia (b. 1987), Olivia (b. 1991) and Malcolm (b. 1991; named after Malcolm X). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
In 2006, Washington denied rumors that he has had an affair.
Selected filmography
DVD cover of Philadelphia
2006 - Inside Man - Keith Frazier
2004 - The Manchurian Candidate - Ben Marco
2004 - Man on Fire - Creasy
2003 - Out of Time - Matthias Lee Whitlock
2002 - Antwone Fisher - Dr. Jerome Davenport, also as director
2002 - John Q - John Quincy Archibald
2001 - Training Day - Detective Alonzo Harris, Academy Award, Best Actor
2000 - Remember the Titans - Coach Herman Boone
1999 - The Hurricane - Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
1999 - The Bone Collector - Lincoln Rhyme
1998 - The Siege - Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
1998 - He Got Game - Jake Shuttlesworth
1998 - Fallen - Det. John Hobbes
1996 - The Preacher's Wife - Dudley
1996 - Courage Under Fire - Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling
1995 - Devil in a Blue Dress - Easy Rawlins
1995 - Virtuosity - Lt. Parker Barnes
1995 - Crimson Tide - Lt. Commander Ron Hunter
1993 - Philadelphia - Joe Miller
1993 - The Pelican Brief - Gray Grantham
1993 - Much Ado About Nothing - Don Pedro of Aragon
1992 - Malcolm X - Malcolm X
1992 - Mississippi Masala - Demetrius Williams
1991 - Ricochet - Nick Styles
1990 - Mo' Better Blues - Bleek Gilliam
1990 - Heart Condition - Napoleon Stone
1989 - Glory - Pvt. Trip, Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor
1989 - For Queen and Country - Reuben James
1989 - The Mighty Quinn - Xavier Quinn
1987 - Cry Freedom - Steve Biko
1984 - A Soldier's Story - Pfc. Peterson
1981 - Carbon Copy - Roger Porter
Academy Awards and nominations
1987 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Cry Freedom
1989 - Won - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Glory
1992 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Malcolm X
1999 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Hurricane
2001 - Won - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Training Day
Preceded by:
Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1989
Succeeded by: Joe Pesci for Goodfellas
Preceded by: Russell Crowe for The Gladiator
Academy Award for Best Actor 2001
Succeeded by: Adrien Brody for The Pianist
