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Denzel Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Denzel Washington | |
|---|---|
 Denzel Washington at press conference of The Hurricane, 2000 Berlinale. |
|
| Birth name | Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. |
| Born | December 28, 1954 Mt. Vernon, New York |
| Other name(s) | Dee, Denzel Washingtozel |
| Occupation | actor, director |
| Years active | 1977-present |
| Spouse(s) | Pauletta Pearson (1983-present) |
| Children | John David Washington |
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award- winning American actor and director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his portrayals of several real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Frank Lucas, and Herman Boone.
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Washington was born in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother, Lennis, was a beauty parlor-owner born in Georgia and raised in Harlem.[1] His father, Dillwyn, Virginia-born Reverend Denzel Washington, was an ordained Pentecostal minister and also worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein".[1] When Washington was fourteen his parents' marriage took a turn for the worse and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school so that they would not be exposed to their parents' eventual divorce. He attended grammar school at Pennington Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon, where he played various sports.
Washington went on to college at the University of Oregon but did not do well and dropped out. Washington attained a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. At Fordham he played collegiate basketball under coach P. J. Carlesimo. He still found time to pursue his interest in acting, and after graduation he went to San Francisco, American Conservatory Theatre for one year.
Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Washington made his professional acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television movie Wilma. He made his film debut in the 1981 film Carbon Copy. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor television, film and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave in the film Glory. Also that same year, he gave a powerful performance as Reuben James, a Caribbean-born man who turned from a British Army paratrooper into a vigilante in For Queen and Country.
In the Summer of 1990 he starred in a movie called Mississippi Masala where he played the character Demetrius Williams. Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. The next year, in 1993, he took another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a homosexual man with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well as comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film, Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "Denzel felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough."[2] A similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. And an additional occurrence was in the 1989 film The Mighty Quinn where Washington's Quinn character did not kiss Mimi Rogers' alluring Hadley character. However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
He also presented the Arthur Ashe ESPY Award to Loretta Claiborne for her courage. He appeared as himself in the end of The Loretta Claiborne Story movie. Washington is often cited as an example of human physical attractiveness due to the symmetry of his facial features.[3][4]
In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Actor for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, which was considered a change of pace for Washington, as he played a villainous character after many roles as a heroic lead. Washington was the second African-American performer ever to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor (for Training Day), the first being Sidney Poitier, who happened to receive an Honorary Academy Award the same night that Washington won for Best Actor. Washington is the only actor of African descent to have acting nominations (five times) for an African-American performer.
After appearing in 2002's box office success, the Health care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire, and The Manchurian Candidate.[5] In 2006 he starred in Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, and Déjà Vu released in November 2006. Next he was working with Russell Crowe in the film American Gangster. Denzel's next movie, 'The Great Debaters', is to be released on December 25, 2007. IMDB has posted the page for his next movie in which he plays with John Travolta, directed once again by Tony Scott.
Washington made a rare stage appearance in 2005 as Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar on Broadway. The production's limited run was a sell-out despite receiving universally terrible reviews.
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), whom he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma. The couple has four children: John David (b. July 28, 1984), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college football at Morehouse;[6] Katia (b. November 1987), who is attending Yale University, and twins Olivia and Malcolm (b. April 10, 1991). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
Washington and his family visited soldiers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He later made a sizable donation to the Fisher Houses, small hotels that provide rooms for soldiers' families while the soldiers are hospitalized. In October 2006, he published a bestseller entitled Hand to Guide Me, featuring actors, politicians, athletes, and other public figures recalling their childhood mentors. The book was published in commemoration of the Boys and Girls Club of America's centennial anniversary. Denzel had participated in the club as a child.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia named Washington as one of three people (the others being directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore) they want to negotiate with for the release of three defense contractors that the group has held captive since 2003.[7]
On May 20, 2007 Washington received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from Morehouse College.
Washington is also a devout Christian.
Denzel is a devoted, and ardent admirer of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is an alum of the Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club, New York, and is, to this day, actively involved in the Club, and other Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation. Denzel is an outspoken defender of children's rights, particularly those children of color growing up in difficult, almost hopeless circumstanses.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1989 for Glory |
Succeeded by Joe Pesci for Goodfellas |
| Preceded by Martin Landau for Tucker: The Man and His Dream |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture 1990 for Glory |
Succeeded by Bruce Davison for Longtime Companion |
| Preceded by Jim Carrey for The Truman Show |
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama 2000 for The Hurricane |
Succeeded by Tom Hanks for Cast Away |
| Preceded by Russell Crowe for Gladiator |
Academy Award for Best Actor 2001 for Training Day |
Succeeded by Adrien Brody for The Pianist |
| Preceded by Brad Pitt |
People's Sexiest Man Alive 1996 |
Succeeded by George Clooney |
- 1993 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for Malcolm X at the Berlin International Film Festival
- 2000 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for The Hurricane at the Berlin International Film Festival
| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Training Day | Won |
| 2000 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | The Hurricane | Nominated |
| 1993 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Malcolm X | Nominated |
| 1990 | Best Supporting Actor | Glory | Won |
| 1988 | Best Supporting Actor | Cry Freedom | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2001 | Best Actor | Won |
| 2004 | Best Actor | Won |
| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor | Inside Man | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Actor | Inside Man | Nominated |
| 2004 | Best Actor | Out of Time | Nominated |
| 2003 | Best Supporting Actor | Antwone Fisher | Nominated |
| Best Director | Antwone Fisher | Won | |
| Best Actor | John Q | Nominated |
- ^ a b Nickson, Chris (1996). Denzel Washington. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 9-11. ISBN-100312960433.
- ^ Quotes from Jet magazine, 1995
- ^ Cowley, Geoffrey. "The biology of beauty", Newsweek v127 n23, Newsweek, 1996-06-03, p. 60(7). Excerpted by Balancing Act. Symonics Inc. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ Rodgers, Joann Ellison. "Flirting Fascination", Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, Jan/Feb 1999. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ Denzel Washington Movie Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Denzel Washington's son among Rams signees", ESPN, 2006-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Colombian rebels ask Denzel Washington to help broker hostage exchange", CBC Arts, 2006-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Denzel Washington interview about The Great Debaters", 2007-12-21. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
- Denzel Washington at the Internet Movie Database
- Denzel Washington at the TCM Movie Database
- Denzel Washington at the Internet Broadway Database
- Denzel Washington at People.com
- Denzel Washington being interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live
- Men's Vogue profile of Denzel Washington
- Jason Solomons, Film Weekly Meets Denzel Washington (downloadable podcast), The Guardian, 8 November 2007
- Denzel Washington: Criminally good, video interview for American Gangster with stv.tv, November 2007
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