Denzel Washington
American actor (born 1954)
Denzel Washington: from stage training to screen and direction
Finding acting through theater
Washington developed an interest in acting while studying at Fordham University and then trained at the American Conservatory Theater. His early New York stage work preceded a breakthrough as Dr. Philip Chandler on the television drama St. Elsewhere, which ran through the 1980s. Film roles soon gave him a wider audience.
Defining film performances
His portrayal of Steve Biko in Cry Freedom brought an Academy Award nomination. Glory earned him a supporting-actor Oscar, while Malcolm X became another landmark performance in the following decade. He later won the leading-actor Oscar for Training Day, playing a corrupt police detective far removed from the historical figures he had portrayed earlier.
Directing and returning to the stage
Washington expanded his work behind the camera with Antwone Fisher and later directed The Great Debaters and Fences. He continued to alternate film with theater, winning a Tony Award for the Broadway revival of Fences in 2010. The movement among television, cinema, directing and stage work is central to his career, not a late diversion.
Data and sources
Biography — Denzel Washington ↗