American actor, director and producer Denzel Hayes Washington Jr was born 71 years ago in Mount Vernon, New York, is married and has 4 children.
After attending elementary and high school, Denzel went to university, got a BA in Drama and Journalism and afterwards decided to study acting. He attended a theatrical school and then went back to New York to pursue a career in acting.
In the late 70s, Denzel appeared for the first time in a TV movie called ‘Wilma’ and during the 80s starred in several films: ‘A Soldier’s Story’, ‘Hard Lessons’, ‘Power’, ‘Glory’, ‘High Freedom’, ‘The Mighty Quinn’ and ‘For Queen and Country’. Also, between 1982 and 1988, he was cast in ‘Elsewhere’, a TV hospital drama.
By this time, Denzel had started to gain popularity and became more and more famous. He continued to act in numerous movies of different genres, alongside other famous actors and actresses like Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, Angelina Jolie, Gene Hackman, John Goodman, Tom Hanks and Donald Sutherland, amongst many others. Some of these movies include ‘The Pelican Brief’, ‘Philadelphia’, ‘Out of Time’, ‘Crimson Tide’, He Got Game’, ‘The Bone Collector’, ‘Courage under Fire’, ‘John Q’, ‘Deja` Vu’, ‘Flight’, ‘2 Guns’, ‘The Equalizer’, ‘The Magnificent Seven’ and ‘Fences’. Apart from films, Denzel also played in several theatrical productions.
Washington’s latest appearances were this year in the crime thriller movie ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ and on stage in the play by Shakespeare ‘Othello’, in which he was the main protagonist. Next year, Denzel will be starring in an upcoming film named ‘Here comes the Flood’ which is currently filming. This movie’s release date is still to be announced.
To date, Denzel appeared in over 50 films (some of which he also directed/produced), 9 TV productions as well as 10 theatrical plays. During his +45-year career, he has received no less than 65 awards, including 3 Golden Globe, 2 Academy, 19 Film Critic and 18 NAACP Image, to name a few. Earlier this year, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Washington is also an avid philanthropist and made numerous monetary donations to various charitable institutions and non-profit organisations.
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