‘Dramatic’ Reading with Denzel Washington

Washington went to Fordham University, but he proved to be a poor student initially. After taking some time away from college, he returned to the university with a new interest in acting. Washington later won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and afterwards worked with the Shakespeare in the Park ensemble.

Oscar Wins and Directorial Debut

Washington made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981). He also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions and in television movies before being cast in a starring role in the hit television medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982–88). Washington grabbed his first of five Oscar nominations for Cry Freedom (1987) as real-life South African apartheid martyr Steve Biko. He later won a best supporting actor Oscar for Glory (1989).

Washington proved time and again he could disappear into a role and mesmerize audiences. He appeared in several notable films throughout the 1990s, including Spike Lee collaborations like the jazz outing Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and biopic Malcolm X (1992; in another Oscar-nominated performance). Other projects from this era included The Pelican Brief (1993), Philadelphia (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Hurricane (1999), for which he received a Golden Globe for best actor and another Oscar nomination.

In 2001, Washington received his second Oscar (this time in a leading role) for the cop thriller Training Day. The following year, he directed his first film, the drama Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred. Washington would once again step behind the camera for the historical The Great Debaters (2007), which profiled a winning African-American debate team.

Action Hits and ‘Flight’

Several hits followed, including Man on Fire (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Lee’s Inside Man (2006), which co-starred Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. Washington also starred as Frank Lucas, a real-life heroin kingpin from Harlem, in the 2007 film American Gangster, opposite Russell Crowe. In 2009, Washington starred as MTA Dispatcher Walter Garber in the remake of the classic film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, co-starring John Travolta.

In more recent years, Washington has continued to explore a range of roles. He starred in the 2010 futuristic tale The Book of Eli. That same year, Washington won a Tony Award for his work in Fences, a revival of the August Wilson classic drama. He landed a $20 million payday for the 2012 action thriller Safe House, in which he played a CIA agent gone rogue, and the film grossed more than $200 million worldwide. Washington next appeared in the comparatively low-budget drama Flight (2012), earning accolades and his sixth Oscar nomination for his performance as a pilot with substance abuse problems. He then teamed up with Mark Wahlberg for the 2013 crime drama 2 Guns and had another action hit in 2014 with The Equalizer.

In early 2016, Washington received the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe telecast. Later that year he directed and starred in Fences, a drama adapted from a play written by August Wilson. For his onscreen role in the film, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Personal Life

Denzel Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983; they have four children. Their oldest son, John David, was drafted in 2006 by the NFL’s St. Louis Rams. He now plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League. Their other children are daughter Katia and twins Olivia and Malcolm.