Washington (born 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 declaring him the greatest actor of the 21st century in the year 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, including an Academy Award, Golden Globes, a SAG, and a Tony Award in addition to being nominated for Emmys and a Grammy. Washington has been honored with the 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award (2019), and the 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom. After studying at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He gained early fame in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for Best Supporting Actor for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (1989) and his second for Best Actor for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (in 2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (2021). A renowned leading man, Washington also acted in films such as *Mo' Better Blues* (1990), *Mississippi Masala* (in 1991), *Philadelphia* (in 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (from 1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (released in 2004), *Inside Man* (in 2006), *American Gangster* (from 2007), and the *Equalizer* films (2014–2023). Washington starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (from 2002), *The Great Debaters* (in 2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has performed in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at New York’s Public Theater. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (released in 1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in the Play category for his role as a disheartened blue-collar father in the Broadway revival of the play *Fences* by August Wilson (from 2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Lorraine Hansberry's play *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).