52 Facts About Denzel Washington

In 2022, Denzel Washington received the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed upon him by President Joe Biden.

Denzel Washington started his acting career in theatre, acting in performances off-Broadway, including William Shakespeare's Coriolanus in 1979.

Denzel Washington first came to prominence in the medical drama St Elsewhere.

Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as corrupt detective Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller Training Day.

Denzel Washington won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway revival of the August Wilson play Fences in 2010.

Denzel Washington later directed, produced, and starred in the film adaptation in 2016, which was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Denzel Washington.

Denzel Washington produced the film adaptation of Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Denzel Washington's mother, Lennis "Lynne", was a beauty parlor owner and operator born in Georgia and partly raised in Harlem, New York.

Denzel Washington attended Pennington-Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon until 1968.

Denzel Washington participated in a staff talent show for the campers and a colleague suggested he try acting.

Denzel Washington then attended graduate school at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California, where he stayed for one year before returning to New York to begin a professional acting career.

Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Denzel Washington made his screen acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television film Wilma which was a docudrama about sprinter Wilma Rudolph, and made his first Hollywood appearance in the 1981 film Carbon Copy.

Denzel Washington shared a 1982 Distinguished Ensemble Performance Obie Award for playing Private First Class Melvin Peterson in the Off-Broadway Negro Ensemble Company production A Soldier's Play which premiered November 20,1981.

Denzel Washington was one of only a few African-American actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run.

Denzel Washington appeared in several television, motion picture and stage roles, such as the films A Soldier's Story, Hard Lessons and Power.

In 1989, Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave soldier in the film Glory.

In 1990, Denzel Washington starred as Bleek Gilliam in the Spike Lee film Mo' Better Blues.

In 1998, Denzel Washington starred in Spike Lee's film He Got Game.

Denzel Washington played a father serving a six-year prison term when the prison warden offers him a temporary parole to convince his top-ranked high-school basketball player son to sign with the governor's alma mater, Big State.

In 1999, Denzel Washington starred alongside Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector.

Also in 1999, Denzel Washington starred in The Hurricane, a film about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he spent almost 20 years in prison.

Denzel Washington received a Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for his role as Carter.

Denzel Washington was the first black actor to win the award since Sidney Poitier in 1963.

Denzel Washington won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2001 cop thriller Training Day, where he played Detective Alonzo Harris, a corrupt Los Angeles cop.

Denzel Washington was the second African-American actor to win the category after Poitier, who was presented with an Honorary Academy Award the same night.

Between 2003 and 2004, Denzel 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.

In 2007, Denzel Washington co-starred with Russell Crowe for the second time in Ridley Scott's American Gangster.

Denzel Washington directed and starred in the drama The Great Debaters with Forest Whitaker.

Denzel Washington next appeared in Tony Scott's 2009 film The Taking of Pelham 123, where he played New York City subway security chief Walter Garber opposite John Travolta's villain.

From April to June 2014, Denzel Washington played the leading role in the Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic drama A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Kenny Leon.

In 2010, Denzel Washington starred in The Book of Eli, a post-apocalyptic action-drama set in the near future.

In 2012, Denzel Washington starred in Flight, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic airline pilot facing investigation for his part in a plane crash.

Denzel Washington co-starred with Ryan Reynolds in Safe House, where he prepared for his role by subjecting himself to a torture session that included waterboarding.

In 2013, Denzel Washington starred in 2 Guns, alongside Mark Wahlberg.

Denzel Washington reprised his role in his first sequel, The Equalizer 2.

In 2016, Denzel Washington starred in The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the 1960 western film of the same name, alongside Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Denzel Washington's character was renamed from Chris Adams to Sam Chisolm.

Denzel Washington did not watch Westerns growing up, as it was the end of the Western era in the movies.

Denzel Washington did not view the original film in preparation, but has watched Seven Samurai.

The producers were skeptical whether he would take the job since it was a Western film, but Fuqua flew to New York City to negotiate with Denzel Washington, who accepted the offer.

In 2016, Denzel Washington directed the film Fences, co-starring Viola Davis and based on August Wilson's play of the same name, with a script by Wilson.

In 2017, Washington starred in the legal drama film Roman J Israel, Esq.

In 2021, Denzel Washington portrayed the titular character in the 2021 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy Macbeth.

Denzel Washington received universal acclaim for his performance and was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Also in 2021, Denzel Washington directed the drama A Journal for Jordan, based on the memoir A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor by Dana Canedy.

On June 25,1983, Denzel Washington married Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of his first screen work, the television film Wilma.

Denzel Washington is Pentecostal Evangelical Christian and a member of the West Angeles Church of God in Christ, located in Los Angeles.

In mid-2004, Denzel Washington visited Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, where he participated in a Purple Heart ceremony, presenting medals to three Army soldiers recovering from wounds they received while stationed in Iraq.

Denzel Washington visited the fort's Fisher House facilities, and after learning that it had exceeded its capacity, made a substantial donation to the Fisher House Foundation; this program focuses on building and providing homes for military personnel and their families free of charge while they receive medical care.

On May 18,1991, Denzel Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, for having "impressively succeeded in exploring the edge of his multifaceted talent".

Denzel Washington received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Morehouse College on May 20,2007 and an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania on May 16,2011.

On July 1,2022, the White House announced that Denzel Washington would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.