Biography
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020. Over his career, he has received several accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Emmy Awards...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Highest 2 Lowest
2025
as David King
When a titan music mogul, widely known as having the "best ears in the business", is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death m...

The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision
2024
as Self
Join the director, cast and producers of The Piano Lesson for an illuminating, intimate conversation about about bringing August Wilson's play to the ...

The Making of Gladiator II
2024
as Self
An inside look that offers unprecedented access encompassing all aspects of production, from the grand scope of the sets — including reconstructing An...

Gladiator II
2024
as Macrinus
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conq...

The Piano Lesson
2024
Producer
A brother and sister's battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived — and who defines a family legacy...

Denzel Washington: American Icon
2024
as Self
This documentary dives into the life and work of Hollywood icon Denzel Washington. Explore his rise from theater beginnings to becoming a two-time Osc...

The Equalizer 3
2023
as Robert McCall
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly,...

The Equalizer 3
2023
Producer
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly,...

Denzel Washington: A Model American
2022
as Self (archive footage)
In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, placed the figure of the Black man in all its complexit...

Sidney
2022
as Self
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Wa...

Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning Act
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Whoopi Goldberg is an award-winning comedian actress and human rights advocate. She has achieved amazing success in the entertainment industry. From t...

A Journal for Jordan
2021
Director, Producer
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant s...

The Tragedy of Macbeth
2021
as Macbeth
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurre...

Val
2021
as Self (archive footage)
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film a...

The Little Things
2021
as Joe 'Deke' Deacon
Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who's terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culp...
Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Who has ever compared Reservoir Dogs? What are “Open Road” and “New World Disorder”? Why is Harvey Keitel a fairy and how did we all almost become die...

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
2020
Producer
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self (archive footage)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

Giving Voice
2020
as Self
Every year, thousands of high schoolers enter the August Wilson monologue competition for a chance to perform on Broadway. This film follows these stu...

The Equalizer 2
2018
as Robert McCall
Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his...

The Equalizer 2
2018
Producer
Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his...

Roman J. Israel, Esq.
2017
as Roman J. Israel
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontma...

Roman J. Israel, Esq.
2017
Producer
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontma...

Chasing Trane
2017
as John Coltrane (voice)
An account of the life of the brilliant jazz musician John Coltrane (1926-67), a gifted saxophonist, an extraordinarily talented thinker whose origina...

Fences
2016
as Troy Maxson
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to r...

Fences
2016
Director, Producer
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to r...

The Magnificent Seven
2016
as Sam Chisolm
Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma...

The Equalizer
2014
as Robert McCall
McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl u...

The Equalizer
2014
Producer
McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl u...

And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self (archive footage)
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy ...

2 Guns
2013
as Robert 'Bobby' Trench
A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- ...

Flight
2012
as Whip Whitaker
Commercial airline pilot Whip Whitaker has a problem with drugs and alcohol, though so far he's managed to complete his flights safely. His luck runs ...

Safe House
2012
as Tobin Frost
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative esc...

Safe House
2012
Executive Producer
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative esc...

Unstoppable
2010
as Frank Barnes
When a massive, unmanned locomotive roars out of control, the threat is more ominous than just a derailment. The train is laden with toxic chemicals, ...

The Book of Eli
2010
as Eli
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankin...

The Book of Eli
2010
Producer
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankin...

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
2009
as Walter Garber
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatche...

We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
2009
as Self
A public celebration of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America at the Lincoln Memorial and the Nationa...

The Great Debaters
2007
as Melvin B. Tolson
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American ...

The Great Debaters
2007
Director
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American ...

American Gangster
2007
as Frank Lucas
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American...

Déjà Vu
2006
as Doug Carlin
Called in to recover evidence in the aftermath of a horrific explosion on a New Orleans ferry, Federal agent Doug Carlin gets pulled away from the sce...

Inside Man
2006
as Keith Frazier
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiation...

By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
2005
as Self
A short documentary about the making of Spike Lee's biopic, "Malcolm X."

The Manchurian Candidate
2004
as Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow s...

Man on Fire
2004
as John W. Creasy
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventual...

Out of Time
2003
as Matt Lee Whitlock
Matt Lee Whitlock, respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicio...

The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
2003
as Self
Spike Lee's filmmaking career is examined in this partial making-of for the film 25th Hour (2002). Interviews with cast members from this film and his...

Antwone Fisher
2002
as Dr. Jerome Davenport
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and r...

Antwone Fisher
2002
Director, Producer
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and r...

John Q
2002
as John Quincy Archibald
John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because ...

Training Day
2001
as Alonzo
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.

Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks
2000
Producer
An intimate look at the life and career of Gordon Parks a true Renaissance man who has excelled as a photographer, novelist, journalist, poet, musicia...

Remember the Titans
2000
as Coach Herman Boone
After leading his football team to 15 winning seasons, coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone – tough, opinionated and as different ...

Straight from the Streets
2000
as Self
Straight From The Streets is a unique mosaic of inner city culture and politics that goes where no other film has dared!

The Bone Collector
1999
as Lincoln Rhyme
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and ...

The Hurricane
1999
as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.

The Siege
1998
as Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist from his Middle East homeland leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York. An FBI senior agent ...

He Got Game
1998
as Jake Shuttlesworth
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.

Fallen
1998
as John Hobbes
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are v...

Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special
1997
as Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
Whoopi Goldberg is the voice of Mother Goose in this all-star, all-rhyming tale set in multi-ethnic nursery-rhyme land.

The Preacher's Wife
1996
as Dudley
Good-natured Reverend Henry Biggs finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived nei...

Courage Under Fire
1996
as Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female cho...

Devil in a Blue Dress
1995
as Easy Rawlins
In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a my...

Virtuosity
1995
as Parker Barnes
The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity...

Crimson Tide
1995
as Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on...

The Making of 'Crimson Tide'
1995
as Self
This documentary provides viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this high-tension thriller about the decisions faced by a submarine c...

Philadelphia
1993
as Joe Miller
Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes...

The Pelican Brief
1993
as Gray Grantham
A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Much Ado About Nothing
1993
as Don Pedro of Aragon
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to...

Malcolm X
1992
as Malcolm X
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he b...
Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
1992
as Narrator
An account of Black American soldiers in World War II who combated racism in the segregated military and on the home front.

Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway
1992
as Narrator
A behind the scenes look at the Broadway production of Jelly's Last Jam, including a tribute to jazz musician and composer Jelly Roll Morton. Gregory ...

Ricochet
1991
as Nick Styles
An attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.

Mississippi Masala
1991
as Demetrius Williams
Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land o...
Rabbit Ears - Anansi
1991
as Narrator (voice)
Two stories feature Anansi the Spider outsmarting various creatures to get their stories. The first story involves Anansi tricking Snake to get the st...

Rabbit Ears - John Henry
1990
as Narrator (voice)
Read by Denzel Washington

Mo' Better Blues
1990
as Bleek Gilliam
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he ...

Heart Condition
1990
as Napoleon Stone
Racist police officer Jack Moony has a vendetta against Napoleon Stone, a charismatic black lawyer who is sleeping with Jack's old flame Crystal Gerri...

Glory
1989
as Pvt. Trip
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.

The Mighty Quinn
1989
as Xavier Quinn
Police chief Xavier Quinn investigates the gruesome murder of Donald Pater, one of the wealthiest residents on a Caribbean island. He was found decapi...

The George McKenna Story
1988
as George McKenna
Washington plays a school principal in a tough inner city Los Angeles high school out to rid it of drugs, gangs, low moral of teachers, and restore ed...

For Queen & Country
1988
as Reuben
A retired British soldier struggles to adjust to everyday life, with increasing difficulty.

Cry Freedom
1987
as Steve Biko
A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods...

License to Kill
1986
as Martin Sawyer
A grieving family whose daughter was killed in a car crash with a drunken driver is outraged and frustrated as they encounter the inevitable bureaucra...

Power
1986
as Arnold Billings
Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client Ohio sen...

A Soldier's Story
1984
as Private First Class Peterson
In a rural town in Louisiana, a black Master Sergeant is found shot to death just outside the local Army Base. Military lawyer, Captain Davenport—also...

Carbon Copy
1981
as Roger Porter
A middle-aged married wealthy white corporate executive is surprised to discover that he has a working-class black teen-age son who wants to be adopte...

Flesh & Blood
1979
as Kirk
A young street-tough-turned-boxer struggles to reach the top while finding his romance with an attractive TV reporter is complicated by an incestuous ...

Coriolanus
1979
as Roman Soldier / Volscian Soldier
A video recording of a New York Shakespeare Festival 1979 stage production of Coriolanus with an all-black and Hispanic cast. Producer Joseph Papp int...

Wilma
1977
as Robert Eldridge, age 18
The story of American track sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who overcame physical handicaps to win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics.
Untitled Hannibal Project
N/A
as Hannibal Barca
Based on the real warrior Hannibal, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, the film will cover the crucial battles he led agai...

Number 4
N/A
as Self
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington discuss their fourth film together Inside Man.
Black Panther 3
N/A
Rumored third installment in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther franchise.

The Equalizer 4
N/A
as Robert McCall
In development.

The Equalizer 5
N/A
as Robert McCall
In development.

Here Comes the Flood
N/A
An unconventional heist movie about three people locked in a deadly game of cons and double crosses.
Untitled Hannibal Project
N/A
Producer
Based on the real warrior Hannibal, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history, the film will cover the crucial battles he led agai...