Washington (born on December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is considered one of the greatest actors of his time, with The New York Times calling him the best actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. Throughout his career, Washington has garnered numerous awards, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has been awarded the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, he launched his career in theater, starring in off-Broadway shows. He gained early fame in the NBC medical drama series *St. Elsewhere* (between 1982 and 1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (in 1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Union soldier in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (in 2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (from 1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). A renowned leading man, Washington also acted in movies including *Mo' Better Blues* (in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (released in 2007), and The Equalizer trilogy (released from 2014 to 2023). Washington directed and starred in the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). On stage, he has performed in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. His first appearance on Broadway in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play *Fences* (released in 2010). He has also appeared in the Broadway revivals of Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Hansberry's *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and O'Neill's *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).