Washington (with a birthdate of December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Famed for his dramatic roles in film and theater, he is widely regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, with The New York Times declaring him the top actor of the 21st century in 2020. He has won several prestigious awards over his career, including two Oscars, three Golden Globes, a SAG Award, and a Tony Award along with nominations in two Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award. Washington has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (2016), AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022). After training at the American Conservatory Theater, he started his acting career in theater, acting in performances off-Broadway. He gained early fame in the NBC drama *St. Elsewhere* (1982–1988), and in the war film *A Soldier's Story* (released in 1984). He has two Academy Awards to his name, his first for the Best Supporting Actor category for playing a soldier during the Civil War in the war drama *Glory* (released in 1989) and his second for the Best Actor category for playing a corrupt law enforcement officer in the crime thriller *Training Day* (released in 2001). He was nominated for an Oscar for his performances in *Cry Freedom* (released in 1987), *Malcolm X* (released in 1992), *The Hurricane* (1999), *Flight* (from 2012), *Fences* (2016), *Roman J. Israel, Esq.* (2017), and *The Tragedy of Macbeth* (from 2021). A prominent leading man, Washington appeared in movies like *Mo' Better Blues* (released in 1990), *Mississippi Masala* (released in 1991), *Philadelphia* (from 1993), *Courage Under Fire* (1996), *Remember the Titans* (from 2000), *Man on Fire* (from 2004), *Inside Man* (released in 2006), *American Gangster* (2007), and the *Equalizer* trilogy (2014–2023). Washington both starred in and directed the films *Antwone Fisher* (in 2002), *The Great Debaters* (2007), and *Fences* (in 2016). In theater, he has acted in productions like *Coriolanus* (1979) and *The Tragedy of Richard III* (1990) at The Public Theater in New York. He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play *Checkmates* (1988). He received a 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* (released in 2010). He has also starred in the Broadway revivals of Shakespeare's *Julius Caesar* (2005), Hansberry's *A Raisin in the Sun* (2014), and O'Neill's *The Iceman Cometh* (2018).