Born on December 28, 1954, to a Pentecostal minister, the Reverend Denzel Wasington, and a beauty parlor owner, Lennis, Washington spent his teen years getting in trouble. While some of his friends were sent to prison, he was sent to a preparatory school. Changing his life around, Washington went on to graduate from Fordham University with a degree in journalism. However, as he appeared in some plays in college, his focus changed. After graduating from Fordham, Denzel enrolled in the American Conservatory Theatre and moved to San Francisco, California.
His first role was in Wilma, a made-for-television biographical movie about Olympic star Wilma Rudolph. The best perk of this movie was that he met his wife, Paulette. They have been together since, and have four children, the oldest of which is John David, a running back for the St. Louis Rams. In 1995, Denzel and Paulette renewed their vows in front of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Following this with roles in movies such as A Soldier’s Story, Washington landed a role as a doctor in the television series, St. Elsewhere, starring in it for six years alongside Ed Begley, Jr., Mark Harmon, and Howie Mandel. This brought him to a role in Cry Freedom, a movie about a South African journalist investigating the death of Washington‘s character. He received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for this role, and finally won the award for his role in the Civil War flick Glory. Washington starred in this movie with Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, and Andre Braugher.
Washington found he worked well with director/writer/actor Spike Lee, and worked with him often in movies such as Mo’ Better Blues, starring with Lee and Wesley Snipes; and He Got Game with Milla Jovovich and Ned Beatty. Washington’s most successful and also poignant Lee collaboration was Malcolm X, in which Denzel starred with Lee and Angela Bassett. This brought him an Academy Award nomination for best actor.
While never following his earlier dream to become a journalist, perhaps Washington used his degree to help him in his role in John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, and John Heard. Next up for Washington was a role as a homophobic lawyer in Philadelphia, starring with Tom Hanks. It was Hanks who later said that starring in this movie along with Washington was like going to film school, as he felt like he learned more from him about the craft of acting than from anyone else.
Crimson Tide offered Washington a starring role alongside such a Hollywood dignitary as Gene Hackman. Washington followed this hit with a role as an army officer in another action movie, Courage Under Fire, working with Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Matt Damon. Going against type somewhat, Washington left behind the serious action roles to star as an angel in The Preacher’s Wife with Whitney Houston, Gregory Hines, and Courtney B Vance.
Washington took on the biographical role of a high school football coach, Herman Boone, who does his best to destroy the racial separations on the football team in Remember the Titans. He starred with Will Patton, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, and Hayden Panettiere. Going in quite the opposite direction, next up for Washington was a role as a corrupt cop in Training Day. This movie, that also stars Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger, and Snoop Dogg, finally brought him the best actor Academy Award.
Reaching beyond roles as an actor, Washington directed and co-starred in Antwone Fisher, the movie about a young navy man who has a violent outburst and is sent to a psychiatrist.
Washington’s career has in film has been extremely successful, and no one can deny that he’s left an important impact on the world of film.
YUDDY
