Denzel Washington is an American actor, director, and producer renowned for two of his best roles, Private Silas Tripp in the historical war-drama 'Glory' (1989) and Detective Alonzo Harris in the neo-noir crime-thriller 'Training Day' (2001), both of which won him 'Academy Awards'. He has also earned many awards and accolades for his portrayal of real-life figures: 'Cry Freedom' (1987) saw him as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko; in 'Malcolm X' (1992) he played the eponymous Muslim minister and human rights activist; he portrayed boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in 'The Hurricane' (1999); football coach Herman Boone in 'Remember the Titans' (2000); poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in 'The Great Debaters' (2007); and drug kingpin Frank Lucas in 'American Gangster' (2007).
He has an incredibly successful filmography as a director: his directorial debut, the biographical film 'Antwone Fisher' (2002), won him an 'NAACP Image Award' and a 'Black Reel Award'; the second film he directed, 'The Great Debaters' (2007), won four 'NAACP Image Awards'; and 'Fences' (2016), his latest directorial venture, is one of his most successful movies, and was nominated for Oscar in 2017.
On television, he was a main cast on the medical-drama black-comedy 'St. Elsewhere' (1982-88).