Denzel Washington

Denzel Jermaine Washington, Jr. on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. His parents, who divorced when he was fourteen years old. His mother sent him to preparatory school when several of his friends were sentenced to prison. Washington later went to Fordham University, where he discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism.

Washington's first film role was in the 1975 made-for-television movie, Wilma. Later, he got the role of Dr. Phillip Chandler on St. Elsewhere and stayed on the show during its six year run. In 1987 Washington received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Steve Biko in Cry Freedom. Two years later, he won the award for playing a defiant, self-possessed slave in Glory.

in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee, Washington played the civil rights leader. Malcolm X turned him into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. Afterwords he starred in movies like Virtuosity, Much Ado About Nothing, The Preacher's Wife, and Remember the Titans.

Denzel Washington was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Actor for Training Day, the 2001 cop thriller,. He became the second black man to win that Oscar. Since then, Washington's done many projects such as Man on Fire, Inside Man, and Antwone Fisher (which he aslo directed.)