DENZEL WASHINGTON (Creasy) is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor with over 30 films to his credit. His acting accolades also include Golden Globe®, NAACP, Emmy®, and SAG nominations and awards. Washington has enjoyed a distinguished career, consistently entertaining and surprising audiences with his rich and colorful character portrayals.
In 2002, Washington received an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of jaded Los Angeles Police Department veteran Alonzo Harris in Antoine Fuqua’s TRAINING DAY. That same year he made his directorial debut with the inspiring ANTWONE FISHER, which he also produced and appeared in.
Washington has worked with many of the industry’s leading filmmakers. He worked with Tony Scott on CRIMSON TIDE, and starred in three movies for Edward Zwick: GLORY, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, COURAGE UNDER FIRE and THE SIEGE. For Norman Jewison, Washington made his feature film debut in A SOLDIER’S STORY and years later, played the lead role in THE HURRICANE, for which he won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination.
For Spike Lee, Washington starred in MO’ BETTER BLUES, MALCOLM X, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and HE GOT GAME. He also starred in Sidney Lumet’s POWER, Sir Richard Attenborough’s CRY FREEDOM, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Alan J. Pakula’s THE PELICAN BRIEF and Jonathan Demme’s Academy Award-winning PHILADELPHIA and the upcoming THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.
Additional film credits include REMEMBER THE TITANS (for which Washington received an NAACP Image Award as Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Drama), OUT OF TIME, DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS, JOHN Q, FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY, THE MIGHTY QUINN, MISSISSIPPI MASALA, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, THE PREACHER’S WIFE, FALLEN and THE BONE COLLECTOR.
In addition to his accomplishments on screen, Washington produced the HBO documentary “Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks,” which was nominated for two Emmys. He served as executive producer on “Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream,” a biographical documentary for TBS which earned an Emmy Award nomination. He also narrated “John Henry,” which received a Grammy® nomination for Best Spoken Word Album For Children. In 1996, he won the NAACP Image Award for his performance in the animated children’s special, “Happily Ever After: Rumpelstiltskin.”
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 theater productions and discovered a love for acting. Upon graduation from Fordham, Washington was accepted into San Francisco’s prestigious American Conservatory Theater and spent an intensive year studying acting.
Upon his return to New York, his Obie® Award-winning performance in the Off-Broadway production of “A Soldier’s Play” captured the attention of Hollywood and led him to be cast in the long running hit television series “St. Elsewhere” as Dr. Philip Chandler.
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