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“I say without hesitation that Mr. Washington is the finest young actor that I have ever known. At age 22, he has the potential for being one of the outstanding actors of the latter part of the twentieth century. If there is such a thing as genius, then I assure you Mr. Washington is one. I believe even now he is the best actor I have ever known or seen, and God only knows where this can take him.”
— A letter of recommendation from his acting instructor, Robert Stone, in 1977note 

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer.

Early in his career, he did a lot of theater; Washington was in the original cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Soldier's Play.note  Although his first major role was on television, in the classic '80s Ensemble Cast Medical Drama St. Elsewhere, Washington has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the late 1980s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko (Cry Freedom), Malcolm X (Spike Lee's film of the same name), Rubin Carter (The Hurricane), Melvin B. Tolson (The Great Debaters), Frank Lucas (American Gangster) and Herman Boone (Remember the Titans). In case you're wondering, he has been approached to play Martin Luther King Jr., but he declined for fear of the Typecasting that kind of role would create.

Washington has been awarded three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards for his work. He is notable as the second African American man (after Sidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he received for his role in the 2001 film Training Day. He starred as John Creasy in Man on Fire, followed by leading roles in the 2006 thriller Déjà Vu (2006), the 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, and the 2010 post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli. He also played Joe Miller in Philadelphia, which was the second big-budget Hollywood film to present AIDS, homophobia, and gay people in a realistic and thoughtful light.

For his 2012 film Safe House, he allowed himself to be water-boarded for real to make the performance more realistic. His next film was Flight, which came out in November 2012, and for which he was nominated for another Oscar. He would later be nominated for Fences and Roman J. Israel, Esq.. He also produced films without starring in them, such as Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

He is the father of fellow actor John David Washington.


Selected filmography:


This actor's work provides examples of:

  • Affably Evil: A master of playing these types of villains and always keeping you wondering if the charm is sincere or just a facade..
  • Anti-Villain: He plays quite a lot of these, such as his portrayal of Frank Lucas and his role in Safe House.
  • Character Catchphrase: When Denzel says "I guarantee it", you can take that guarantee to the goddamn bank and cash it.
  • Character Tic: Many of his characters play with their hands because he broke his right pinky finger while playing American football and reinjured it many times since that it frequently dislocates and can extend out to an extreme angle and he is making sure that the finger is in place while shooting a scene.
  • Chronically Killed Actor: Says something that out of his seven Oscar noms, only The Hurricane and Flight have Washington ending the movie alive.
  • Creator Backlash: Washington wishes he had never done Heart Condition, claiming that he was talked into making this movie by his agent and once it was slammed by critics and bombed horribly, Washington fired him shortly thereafter.
  • Large Ham: Has a quite a way to ham when needed.
  • Mr. Fanservice: For a long time(especially in the 1990's/2000s), he's been the poster boy for attractive Black masculinity.
  • Production Posse: Often works with directors Spike Lee, Tony Scott, and Antoine Fuqua.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: He's the son of a pastor, and considered following in his father's footsteps before going into acting. He's also noted that he reads his Bible daily and prays regularly, to the point that the quote for the trope page is from him. His film roles tend to incorporate this, including The Book of Eli and Flight.
  • Scary Black Man: Although Denzel isn't exactly a physically imposing man, he often plays roles like this with his intense energy alone.
  • Single Tear: During the infamous whipping scene in Glory, he only sheds one tear, at the end, which is impressive considering the strength and length with which he was whipped. In Flight he also sheds a single tear, when he starts talking about his estranged son in the hospital after the crash.
  • Villain Protagonist: Often plays these, from an abusive and unfaithful husband and father in Fences, to a ruthless if affable mobster in American Gangster.

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