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Actor
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington’s screen credits include Frank Lucas in American Gangster, Alonzo in Training Day, and Gray Grantham in The Pelican Brief.
Born December 28, 1954 Mount Vernon, New York, USA9 movies on MoviHero
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Where to start
A selection of released films from our catalog, with the credited role to help you choose.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE ROLES
About Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, an Actor Award, two Golden Globes, two Silver Bears and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century. He has also been honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $5.1 billion worldwide. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theatre, acting in Off-Broadway performances. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series St. …
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Elsewhere (1982–1988), and in the war film A Soldier's Story (1984). Washington won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama Glory (1989) and for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).
Washington has starred in other notable films, including The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia (both 1993); Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress (both 1995); He Got Game (1998); Remember the Titans (2000); Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu, Inside Man (both 2006); American Gangster (2007); Unstoppable, The Book of Eli (both 2010); The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), Gladiator II (2024), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Washington has also directed the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), Fences (2016), and A Journal for Jordan (2021).
On stage, he has acted in The Public Theater productions of Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990). He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play Checkmates (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences (2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (2005) and Othello (2025), Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh (2018).
GALLERY
Photos
Portraits of Denzel Washington.
MOVIHERO CREDITS
Movies and roles
Explore 9 movie guides, credited roles and upcoming releases.
Movies on MoviHero 9
Showing 8 of 9 credits
- 2024Gladiator II2h 28m · Action · AdventureMacrinus
- 2018The Equalizer 22h 1m · Action · CrimeRobert McCall
- 2016The Magnificent Seven2h 12m · Action · AdventureSam Chisolm
- 2014The Equalizer2h 12m · Action · CrimeRobert McCall
- 2010The Book of Eli1h 58m · Action · Science FictionEli
- 2007American Gangster2h 37m · Crime · DramaFrank Lucas
- 2006Inside Man2h 9m · Crime · DramaKeith Frazier
- 2001Training Day2h 2m · Action · CrimeAlonzo
- 1993The Pelican Brief2h 21m · Drama · ThrillerGray Grantham
More film credits 88 additional titles
These credits do not currently have a MoviHero movie guide. Use the filters to separate released and upcoming work.
Showing 8 of 88 credits
- 2028Black Panther 3ActorUpcoming
- 2026Romare Bearden: A Life in Collageself
- 2025Denzel Washington: Falling ForwardActor
- 2025Highest 2 LowestDavid King
- 2024The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a VisionSelf
- 2024The Making of Gladiator IISelf
- 2024The Piano LessonProducer
- 2024Denzel Washington: American IconSelf
- 2023The Equalizer 3Producer · Robert McCall
- 2022SidneySelf
- 2022Whitney, a Look BackSelf (archive footage)
- 2022Whoopi Goldberg: The Winning ActSelf (archive footage)
- 2021A Journal for JordanDirector · Producer
- 2021The Tragedy of MacbethMacbeth
- 2021ValSelf (archive)
- 2021The Little ThingsJoe 'Deke' Deacon
- 2021Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood LegendSelf (archive footage)
- 2020Ma Rainey's Black BottomProducer
- 2020Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a KingSelf (archive footage)
- 2020Giving VoiceSelf
- 2018Denzel Washington: Reel LifeSelf
- 2017Roman J. Israel, Esq.Producer · Roman J. Israel
- 2017Chasing TraneJohn Coltrane (voice)
- 2016FencesDirector · Producer · Troy Maxson
- 20132 GunsRobert 'Bobby' Trench
- 2012FlightWhip Whitaker
- 2012Safe HouseProducer · Tobin Frost
- 2010UnstoppableFrank Barnes
- 2009The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3Walter Garber
- 2009We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln MemorialSelf
- 2008Fallen Empire: Making 'American Gangster'Self
- 2007The Great DebatersDirector · Melvin B. Tolson
- 2006Déjà VuDoug Carlin
- 2005By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'Self
- 2004The Manchurian CandidateMajor Bennett Ezekiel Marco
- 2004People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'Self (archive)
- 2004Man on FireJohn W. Creasy
- 2003Out of TimeMatt Lee Whitlock
- 2003The Evolution of an American FilmmakerSelf
- 2002Antwone FisherDirector · Producer · Dr. Jerome Davenport
- 2002Behind the Scenes of 'John Q'Self
- 2002John QJohn Quincy Archibald
- 2000Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon ParksProducer
- 2000Remember the TitansCoach Herman Boone
- 2000Straight from the StreetsSelf
- 1999The Bone CollectorLincoln Rhyme
- 1999The HurricaneRubin "Hurricane" Carter
- 1998The SiegeAnthony 'Hub' Hubbard
- 1998He Got GameJake Shuttlesworth
- 1998FallenJohn Hobbes
- 1997Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' SpecialHumpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)
- 1996The Preacher's WifeDudley
- 1996NBA at 50Self - Host
- 1996Courage Under FireLieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
- 1995Devil in a Blue DressEasy Rawlins
- 1995VirtuosityParker Barnes
- 1995Crimson TideLt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter
- 1995The Making of 'Crimson Tide'Self
- 1994Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!Self (archive footage)
- 1994A Century of CinemaSelf
- 1993PhiladelphiaJoe Miller
- 1993Much Ado About NothingDon Pedro
- 1992Malcolm XMalcolm X
- 1992Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War IINarrator (voice)
- 1992Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on BroadwayNarrator (voice)
- 1991RicochetNick Styles
- 1991Mississippi MasalaDemetrius Williams
- 1991Rabbit Ears - AnansiNarrator (voice)
- 1990Rabbit Ears - John HenryNarrator (voice)
- 1990Mo' Better BluesBleek Gilliam
- 1990Heart ConditionNapoleon Stone
- 1989GloryPvt. Trip
- 1989The Mighty QuinnXavier Quinn
- 1988The George McKenna StoryGeorge McKenna
- 1988Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday TributeSelf
- 1988For Queen & CountryReuben
- 1987Cry FreedomSteve Biko
- 1986License to KillMartin Sawyer
- 1986PowerArnold Billings
- 1984A Soldier's StoryPrivate First Class Peterson
- 1981Carbon CopyRoger Porter
- 1979Flesh & BloodKirk
- 1979CoriolanusRoman Soldier / Volscian Soldier
- 1977WilmaRobert Eldridge, age 18
- American Gangster SpecialSelf
- Here Comes the FloodCarter
- Training Day: Crossing the LineActor
- Untitled Hannibal FilmProducer · Hannibal the Great
CHARACTER GUIDES
Characters and roles
Explore character guides connected to Denzel Washington's movie credits.
Robert McCall
The Equalizer · The Equalizer 2
Open character guideMacrinus
Gladiator II
Open character guideKeith Frazier
Inside Man
Open character guideAlonzo
Training Day
Open character guideFrank Lucas
American Gangster
Open character guideEli
The Book of Eli
Open character guideGray Grantham
The Pelican Brief
Open character guideSam Chisolm
The Magnificent Seven
Open character guideCONNECTED THROUGH MOVIES
Shared credits
Discover the people who share these films.
Director
Antoine Fuqua
4 shared films on MoviHeroActor
Bill Pullman
2 shared films on MoviHeroActor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
2 shared films on MoviHeroActor