Forest Whitaker made his big-screen debut in the 1982 American film, ‘Tag: The Assassination Game’ directed by Nick Castle. The same year, he also appeared in the Amy Heckerling-directed American coming-of-age comedy-drama film ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ where he played the role of ‘Charles Jefferson.’ The film was a critical and commercial success and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2005. Whitaker went on to star in films like ‘Vision Quest’ (1985), ‘The Color of Money’ (1986), ‘Platoon’ (1986), ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ (1987), ‘Bird’ (1988), ‘Johnny Handsome’ (1989), ‘Downtown’ (1990), ‘Diary of a Hitman’ (1991), ‘A Rage in Harlem’ (1991), ‘The Crying Game’ (1992), ‘Consenting Adults’ (1992), ‘Body Snatchers’ (1993), and ‘Last Light’ (1993). In 1994, he starred as ‘Cy Bianco’ in the American satirical comedy-drama film ‘Prêt-à-Porter’ directed by Robert Altman. Despite receiving a lukewarm response from critics, the film managed to gross over $46.8 million on a budget of $18 million. The same year, he also played the role of "Mad Dog" Alexander in the Doug McHenry-directed American erotic romantic psychological drama film ‘Jason's Lyric.’ The film opened to mixed reception and currently holds a 58% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.
He continued to star in films like ‘Species’ (1995), ‘Phenomenon’ (1996), ‘Body Count’ (1998), ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’ (1999), ‘Light It Up’ (1999), ‘Battlefield Earth’ (2000), ‘The Fourth Angel’ (2001), ‘Green Dragon’ (2001), ‘Panic Room’ (2002), ‘Phone Booth’ (2002), ‘Jiminy Glick in Lalawood’ (2004), ‘A Little Trip to Heaven’ (2005), and ‘American Gun’ (2005). In 2006, he portrayed ‘Idi Amin’ in the historical drama film ‘The Last King of Scotland’ directed by Kevin Macdonald. The film received a positive response from critics and grossed over $48.4 million on a $6 million budget. Whitaker also won several awards, including the ‘Academy Award’ and ‘BAFTA Award,’ for his portrayal of Idi Amin in the film. The same year, he also joined the cast of the American crime drama television series ‘The Shield’ as ‘Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh.’ He starred in 13 episodes and remained a part of the show until 2007. He was next seen in films such as ‘The Air I Breathe’ (2007), ‘The Great Debaters’ (2007), ‘Vantage Point’ (2008), ‘Winged Creatures’ (2008), ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ (2009), ‘Repo Men’ (2010), ‘The Experiment’ (2010), ‘Catch .44’ (2011), ‘Freelancers’ (2012), ‘The Last Stand’ (2012), ‘Zulu’ (2013), ‘The Butler’ (2013), ‘Black Nativity’ (2013), ‘Two Men in Town’ (2014), ‘Southpaw’ (2015), ‘Rogue One’ (2016), ‘The Forgiven’ (2017), ‘Burden’ (2018), ‘Black Panther’ (2018), and ‘Finding Steve McQueen’ (2019). In 2019, he became a part of the American crime drama television series ‘Godfather of Harlem’ where he grabbed the role of ‘Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson.’ The series was renewed for a third season in January 2022. He next played the role of ‘C. L. Franklin’ in the 2021 American biographical musical drama film ‘Respect’ directed by Liesl Tommy. Even though the film opened to positive reception, it failed to perform at the box office. Whitaker last appeared in the American action and science-fiction television series ‘Andor’ in 2022.
