Denzel Washington:
Is an American actor, and filmmaker
Birth Name: Denzel Hayes Washington jr

Born: December 28, 1954 (age 61), Mount Vernon, New York, United States.

First studied journalism at Fordham University but then discovered an interest in acting. He made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981) and was cast on the hit TV medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982-8). He went on to appear in several hit movies, including Philadelphia, Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, American Gangster and Flight, and won Oscars for his roles in Glory and Training Day.

Washington went to Fordham University, but he proved to be a poor student initially. After taking some time away from college, he returned to the university with a new interest in acting. Washington later won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and afterwards worked with the Shakespeare in the Park ensemble.


Oscars Wins and Directorial debut:

Washington made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981). He also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions and in television movies before being cast in a starring role in the hit television medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982–88) and grabbed his first of five Oscar nominations for Cry Freedom (1987) as real-life South African apartheid martyr Steve Biko. He later won a best supporting actor Oscar for Glory (1989). He 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. He also appeared in several television, motion picture and stage roles, such as the films A Soldier's Story (1984), Hard Lessons (1986) and Power (1986). In 1987, he starred as South African anti-apartheid political activist Steven Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same year (1989), he appeared in the film The Mighty Quinn; and in For Queen and Country

He appeared in several notable films throughout the 1990s, including Spike Lee collaborations like the jazz outing Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and work in critically-acclaimed films continued simultaneously, with roles biopic Malcolm X (1992) , another Oscar-nominated performance). Other projects from this era included The Pelican Brief , El informe Pelícano (1993), Philadelphia,  Filadelfia (1993), Crimson Tide, Marea roja (1995), Courage Under Fire, Valor bajo fuego (1996) and The Hurricane,  Huracán(1999). Turned down Pecados capitales (1995). He opted to do another detective thriller that year, El demonio vestido de azul (1995).

In 2001, Washington received his second Oscar (this time in a leading role) for the cop thriller Training Day,Día de entrenamiento. The following year, he directed his first film, the drama Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred. Continued to define his onscreen persona as the tough, no-nonsense hero through the 2000s in films like Lee's Inside Man. Washington would once again step behind the camera for the historical The Great Debaters (2007), which profiled a winning African-American debate team. 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


Action hits and 'Flight':

Several hits followed, including Man on Fire,Hombre en llamas  (2004), The Manchurian Candidate,(2004).  Washington also starred as Frank Lucas, a real-life heroin kingpin from Harlem, in the 2007 film American Gangster, Gánster americano (2007), Melvin Tolson in The Great Debaters (2007). In 2009, Washington starred as MTA Dispatcher Walter Garber in the remake of the classic film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, co-starring John Travolta. 


During this time period, he also took on the role of producer for some of his films, including El libro de los secretos (2010) and Protegiendo al enemigo (2012). In 2012, Washington starred in Flight, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He 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, Washington starred in 2 Guns, alongside Mark Walberg. In 2014 he starred in The Equalizer, an action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk, based on the television series of same name starring Edward Woodward. Had another action hit in 2014 with The Equalizer.
In early 2016, Washington received the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe telecast.


Personal Life:

Denzel Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983; they have four children. Their oldest son, John David, was drafted in 2006 by the NFL's St. Louis Rams. He now plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League. Their other children are daughter Katia and twins Olivia and Malcolm.