Most Oscar Awards nominated black actor: Who is Denzel Washington?

Full name is Denzel Hayes Washington, he was born on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother, Lennis "Lynne", owned and operated a beauty salon. His father, Denzel Hayes Washington Sr., was an appointed Pentecostal minister. After his parents divorced, he was sent by his mother to Oakland Military Academy, a private school in New York. Washington, who said that many of his friends were on the wrong path and that his mother disciplined his life by sending him to this private school, said that he was sure that if he had not gone, he would have been like his friends. 

After Oakland, Washington attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida for a year, graduating from Fordham University in 1977 with a BA in Drama and Journalism. While Washington was uncertain about which major to pursue, he worked as the creative arts director of a one-night summer camp at Camp Sloane YMCA in Lakeville, Connecticut. While attending a talent show for campers, Washington was intrigued when a colleague suggested that he try acting.

Washington then enrolled on the Lincoln Center campus to study acting, where he starred in Eugene O'Neill's tragic play "The Emperor Jones" and Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello." Washington made his screen acting debut with the made-for-television film "Wilma,"(1977) a documentary drama about sprinter Wilma Rudolph. He made his first Hollywood appearance in the 1981 comedy-drama film "Carbon Copy". That same year, he won the Distinguished Ensemble Performance Obie Award in 1982 for playing in the Off-Broadway Negro Ensemble Company production "A Soldier's Play". 

He took a major six-year career break, starring as Dr. Phillip Chandler in NBC's television medical drama series "St. Elsewhere," which ran from 1982 to 1988. He also appeared in various television, film and stage roles, including the mystery drama film "A Soldier's Story" (1984), the TV biopic "Hard Lessons" (1986), and the political drama film "Power" (1986). In 1987, he starred as political activist Stephen Biko in the epic drama film "Cry Freedom," directed by Richard Attenborough, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

After the series, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a brash, self-possessed former slave soldier in the historical war drama film "Glory" (1989). That same year, he appeared in the lead role in the mystery comedy thriller "The Mighty Quinn". The film received generally positive reviews and was reported as one of the best films of that year. He then played Reuben James, a British soldier, in the crime drama film "For Queen and Country" written and directed by Martin Stellman. The film had many mixed reviews and a box office failure. 

In 1990, Washington appeared as Bleek Gilliam in the musical comedy-drama film "Mo' Better Blues" directed by Spike Lee. In the summer of that year, he played the lead role in William Shakespeare's "Richard III" at the Public Theatre. In 1991, he starred in the romantic drama film "Mississippi Masala" as Demetrius Williams. The following year, he reunited with director Spike Lee to play the lead role in one of his critically acclaimed roles, an epic biographical drama film "Malcolm X" (1992). He earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor an he founded the production company "Mundy Lane Entertainment".

The following year, he appeared alongside Tom Hanks in the legal drama film "Philadelphia" (1993) as the lawyer of a gay man with AIDS. In the early and mid-1990s, Washington appeared in the 1993 legal thriller "The Pelican Brief" with Julia Roberts, and the 1995 action thriller "Crimson Tide" with Gene Hackman and the science fiction film "Virtuosity" with Russell Crowe. He also appeared in several films, including the romantic comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. Three years later, he played the role of a US Army officer in the war movie "Courage Under Fire," co-starring with Meg Ryan. Also that year, he co-starred with Whitney Houston in the romantic comedy-drama film "The Preacher's Wife."

In 1998, Washington starred with Ray Allen in the sports drama film "He Got Game" directed by Spike Lee. The film was Washington's third collaboration with director Spike Lee, and it turned out to be a box office failure. That same year, he starred in the supernatural horror thriller "Fallen," directed by Gregory Hoblit, alongside John Goodman, James Gandolfini, and Donald Sutherland.

The following year, he starred with Angelina Jolie in the detective thriller "The Bone Collector". The film received mixed reviews while doing well at the box office. Also that year, Washington appeared in "The Hurricane," the biographical sports drama about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after serving almost 20 years in prison. The film received good reviews from critics, although it did little at the box office. He won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for his performance.

In 2000, at the 57th Golden Globe Awards, Washington won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Drama Film for his performance in "The Hurricane." In 1963, he became the first black actor to win the award since Sidney Poitier. He also appeared in the Disney biopic sports movie "Remember the Titans," which grossed more than $100 million in the United States that year.

Washington played the role of Detective Alonzo Harris, a corrupt Los Angeles cop, in the detective thriller "Training Day" (2001), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also signed on as the second African-American actor to win this category, after Poitier, when he was presented with an Honorary Academy Award that same night.

The health-themed thriller drama "John Q." was a box office hit in 2002. Washington directed his critically acclaimed debut in the biographical drama "Antwone Fisher," in which he also played the role of a Navy psychiatrist. Thus, he made his directorial debut.

Washington appeared in several places that well in general, such as the mystery thriller "Out of Time", the action thriller "Man on Fire", and the political psychological thriller "The Manchurian Candidate." In 2006, he appeared in the Spike Lee-directed bank robbery crime thriller "Inside Man", and in the time travel science fiction action movie "Déjà Vu" directed by Tony Scott.

The following year, Washington co-starred for a second time with Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" biographical crime film. He also directed and appeared in the biographical drama film "The Great Debaters" with Forest Whitaker. He then appeared as New York subway security chief Walter Garber opposite John Travolta in the action thriller "The Take of Pelham 123" (2009), a remake of Tony Scott's.

In 2010, Washington starred alongside Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals in "The Book of Eli," a post-apocalyptic action drama set in the near future. Also that year, he co-starred with Chris Pine as a seasoned railroad engineer in the disaster action thriller "Unstoppable," about a half-mile-long unmanned stowaway train carrying dangerous cargo. The film was his fifth and final collaboration with director Tony Scott. That year, Washington portrayed the character of Troy Maxson alongside Viola Davis in the Broadway remake of August Wilson's "Fences," for which he won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

In 2012, he starred in the drama film "Flight" as an alcoholic airline pilot facing investigation for his role in a plane crash, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. That same year, he starred in the action thriller "Safe House" alongside Ryan Reynolds. The following year, he co-starred in the cop action comedy "2 Guns" with Mark Wahlberg. In 2014, he appeared in the lead role in the vigilante action thriller "The Equalizer", directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk, based on the television series of the same name. He reprized his role in the sequel "The Equalizer 2" (2018).

From April to June 2014, Washington starred in the Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic drama "A Raisin in the Sun" directed by Kenny Leon. The play received critical acclaim and won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Animation of a Play for his performance.

Two years later, in the western action movie "The Magnificent Seven," a remake of the 1960 film of the same name, with Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard. Premiering at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, the film is Washington's first Western. While the film received mixed reviews, it was also a moderate success, with the production budget grossing.

Washington directed while starring in "Fences," a 2016 period drama film based on August Wilson's play of the same name, in which he co-starred with Viola Davis. Released by Paramount Pictures on December 16, 2016, the film was nominated for three other Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Washington earned Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations in the Best Actor category for his performance. In Washington 2017, he co-starred with Colin Farrell in the legal legal drama film "Roman J.Israel, Esq." While the film received mixed reviews, Washington's performance was praised by critics and earned Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Academy Award nominations. It marked Washington's ninth overall Oscar nomination and his sixth for Best Actor.

Beginning March 22, 2018, Washington starred as Theodore "Hickey" Hickman in the Broadway remake of Eugene O'Neill's play "The Iceman Cometh." Directed by George C. Wolfe, the production regularly ran for 14 weeks, starting April 26.

In 2021, Washington played the title character in the historical thriller "The Tragedy of Macbeth," a 2021 adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy Macbeth. He received international acclaim for his performance. Additionally, he has been nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Washington also directed the romantic drama film "A Journal for Jordan", based on the memoir "A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor" by Dana Canedy. The film, which received a wide theatrical release on December 25, 2021, received mixed reviews from critics.

He is next expected to star in "The Equalizer 3", the vigilante action movie directed by Antoine Fuqua and the sequel to 2018's "The Equalizer 2". Finally, it was announced that Ridley Scott will star in "Gladiator 2", the sequel to the 2000s blockbuster and returning to the big screen. He will star in the movie alongside Barry Keoghan and Paul Mescal, and the movie's vision date is set for November 22, 2024.

Personal life

In June 1983, Washington married Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of his first feature film. The couple has four children, a son named John David, born on July 28, 1984, a daughter named Katia, an actor and former football player, born on November 27, 1986, and twins, Olivia and Malcolm, born on April 10, 1991. 

Saying that he reads the Bible every day, Washington supports many institutions, organizations, aid funds or campaigns. The actor, who gave financial, moral, time and effort for these, was applauded many times for his philanthropic works. On May 18, 1991, Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from Fordham University, which he graduated from for "discovering the limits of his talent and achieving impressively." 

On October 11, 2021, the United States Army declared Washington an Honorary Staff Sergeant of the 2021 Army at the U.S. Army Annual Association conference for his work with the Fisher House Foundation. On July 7, 2022, at the White House, Washington was awarded the "Presidential Medal of Freedom".

Washington is the most nominated black actor with 10 Oscar nominations. His performance as "Malcolm X" was listed 17th on Premiere magazine's 100 greatest performances of all time. Listed as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine in 2002, Washington has a book called "A Hand to Guide Me".