DENZEL WASHINGTON (Alonzo Harris) has been honored with acclaim and innumerable awards and accolades throughout his distinguished career. In 1987 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the Civil War epic Glory. Additionally he was nominated for Best Actor for The Hurricane (1999) and Malcolm X(1992) and Best Supporting Actor for Cry Freedom (1987). He has won two Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for The Hurricane and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for Glory.
In 2001. Washington received a NAACP Image Award as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his role in the fact-based film Remember the Titans, which also won the Best Picture Image Award.
Among Washington's many memorable films are Mo 'Better Blues and He Got Game, with director Spike Lee; Fallen; The Siege and Courage Under Fire, directed by Ed Zwick; The Preacher 's Wife; Crimson Tide; Virtuosity; Devil in a Blue Dress; Much Ado About Nothing; Philadelphia; The Pelican Brief Ricochet; Mississippi Masala. The Mighty Quinn: Heart Condition and For Queen and Country. He will next be seen in Nick Cassavetes' dramatic thriller John Q with Robert Duvall and Anne Heche.
A native of Mt. Vernon, New York, Washington had his career sights set on medicine when he attended Fordham University. During a stint as a summer camp counselor he appeared in a theater production and was bitten by the acting bug. He returned to Fordham that year and studied with Professor Robinson Stone. Upon graduation. Washington was accepted into San Francisco's prestigious American Conservatory Theater. Following an intensive year of study at ACT, he returned to New York after a brief stop in Los Angeles.
Washington's professional New York theater career began with Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park. and was quickly followed by numerous off-Broadway productions, including "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men"; "When The Chickens Came Home to Roost" (in which he portrayed Malcolm X); "One Tiger to a Hill'; "Man and Superman"; "Othello"; and "A Soldier's Play," for which he won an Obie Award. Washington's more recent stage appearances include the Broadway production of "Checkmates" and "Richard III," which was produced as part of the 1990 Free Shakespeare in the Park series hosted by Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York City.
lie made his television debut in 1979 in the film Flesh and Blood. His award-winning performance on stage in "A Soldier's Play" captured the attention of the producers of the NBC television series St. Elsewhere, and he was soon cast in that long-running hit series as Dr. Phillip Chandler. His other television credits include The George McKenna Story, License to Kill and Wilma.
In 1982, Washington made his feature film debut re-creating his role from "A Soldier's Play" for Norman Jewison's film version. re-titled A Soldier's Story.
In addition to his accomplishments on screen, Washington recently took on a very different type of role: he served as executive producer of two biographical documentaries: Half Past Autumn: The Gordon Parks Story for HBO, which has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in the categories of Non-Fiction Special and Cinematographer for a Non-Fiction Program; and Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream for TBS. which was nominated for an Emmy Award. His narration of the legend of John Henry was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for Children and he was awarded the 1996 NAACP Image Award for his performance in the animated children's special Happily Ever After: Rumpelstiltskin.
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