American actor Denzel Hayes Washington Jr was born 69 years ago in Mount Vernon, New York, is married and has 4 children. He is also a director and producer.
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.
This year, Denzel starred in ‘Gladiator 2’, which is still filming, and is the sequel of the 2000 historical drama movie ‘Gladiator’, in which starred Russell Crowe. This upcoming film is expected to be released in November 2024. He also produced the drama movie ‘The Piano Lesson’.
To date, Denzel appeared in over 50 films (some of which he also directed/produced), 10 TV productions as well as 9 theatrical plays. During his +45-year career, he has received no less than 60 awards, including 3 Golden Globe, 2 Academy, 19 Film Critic and 17 NAACP Image, to name a few.
Washington is also an avid philanthropist and made numerous monetary donations to various charitable institutions and non-profit organisations.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: New York Daily News