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The following biography
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Denzel Jermaine Washington, Jr. (born
December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film
actor and occasional director and stage actor.
****
Biography
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 he was sent to Fordham University, where he
discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism.
Early
career
Washington's first film role was 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 ex-slave in the film Glory.
Career:
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. The next year, in 1993, he took
another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a man
with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks, although it was a big
risk for Hanks to play the lawyer with AIDS, critics agreed it was also a risk
for Washington to play the homophobic Miller. 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".[1] A
similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when
Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the
film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. 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.
Career:
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 [2]. His film, Inside Man,
a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive
Owen, opened on March 24, 2006. He is currently in New Orleans for the filming
of the upcoming film Deja Vu.
Personal life
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta
Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), who he met on the set of his first screen
role, Wilma. The couple has four children: John David (b. 1983), who signed a
football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college ball
at Morehouse [2]; 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.
A pinky finger on one of Washington's hands is
broken from a childhood accident.
In 2006, Washington denied rumors that he has had
an affair.[3]
Selected filmography
Year Title Role Other notes
2007 American Gangster Unknown
2006 Deja Vu Doug Carlin
2006 Inside Man Keith Frazier
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Ben Marco
2004 Man on Fire John 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 -
The 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
for Glory Succeeded by:
Joe Pesci
for Goodfellas
Preceded by:
Russell Crowe
for Gladiator Academy Award for Best Actor
2001
for Training Day Succeeded by:
Adrien Brody
for The Pianist
Trivia
Denzel Washington has garnered much critical
acclaim for his portrayals of several individuals who actually existed,
including Steve Biko (Cry Freedom), Malcolm X (Malcolm X), Rubin "Hurricane"
Carter (The Hurricane), and Herman Boone (Remember the Titans). Also noteworthy
are his portrayals of Trip (Glory) and Dr. Jerome Davenport (Antwone Fisher),
who were inspired by real people.
At the age of nine, Denzel Washington's son John
David Washington made a cameo appearance in the film Malcolm X as a student in a
Harlem classroom. On May 1, 2006, John (age 22) signed with the St. Louis Rams
of the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent.
His name is an ongoing use in the animated hit
sitcom Proud Family.
His name is shouted out while Lizzie and her mom
are throwing pots in an episode of Lizzie McGuire.
It is rumored that he is in talks with Peter
Jackson in New Zealand to discuss his possible involvement in the upcoming movie
based on the video game Halo. Although this hasn't been confirmed, many believe
he will play the character Sgt. Johnson.
* * * *
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Date Article Copied:
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