Forest Whitaker
- Acting
- July 15, 1961 · Longview, Texas, USA
Biography
Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, director, and activist. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his film debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Whitaker went on to earn a reputation for intensive character study work for films, such as Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Bird (1988), The Crying Game (1992), Phenomenon (1996), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), The Great Debaters (2007), The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), and Respect (2021). He has also appeared in blockbusters, such as Panic Room (2002), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) as Saw Gerrera, and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. For his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the British historical drama film The Last King of Scotland (2006), Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Whitaker made his directorial debut with the television film Strapped (1993), and directed the films Waiting to Exhale (1995), Hope Floats (1998), and First Daughter (2004). Apart from his film career, Whitaker is also known for his humanitarian work and activism. In 2011, he was inducted as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, later receiving a promotion to Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, and serves as the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.
Known for
Filmography
- Up Against It
- Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo · Self
- Lucky Lu · Executive producer
- To Live and Die and Live · Producer
- Havoc · Lawrence Beaumont
- The King of Kings · Peter (Voice)
- Transplant · Producer
- Seaweed Stories · Self
- My Generation · Self
- Hollywood Black · Self, Executive producer
- The Emperor of Ocean Park · Judge Oliver Garland
- Fancy Dance · Executive producer
- Big George Foreman · Doc Broadus
- Extrapolations · Auggie Bolo
- Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend · Self
- Prophets of Change · Narrator
- Andor · Saw Gerrera
- The Jennifer Hudson Show · Self
- Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look · Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
- For the Sake of Peace · Producer
- Cannes Festival · Self
- Passing · Producer
- Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy · Self
- Respect · C. L. Franklin
- By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem · Self, Executive producer
- Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey · Jeronicus Jangle
- Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times · Self
- Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King · Self
- Godfather of Harlem · Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, Executive producer
- Devil's Pie: D'Angelo · Producer
- A Kid from Coney Island · Executive producer
- Finding Steve McQueen · Howard Lambert
- City of Lies · Jack Jackson
- Burden · Reverend Kennedy
- How It Ends · Tom
- Sorry to Bother You · First Equisapien / Demarius, Producer
- Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace · Narrator (Voice)
- The Forgiven · Desmond Tutu
- Black Panther · Zuri
- Steve · Self
- The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' · Self
- Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival' · Self
- Roxanne Roxanne · Producer
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story · Saw Gerrera
- I Am You · Narrator (Voice)
- Arrival · Colonel Weber
- Star Wars: Go Rogue · Saw Gerrera (Voice)
- Roots · Fiddler
- Songs My Brothers Taught Me · Producer
- Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter · Self
- Southpaw · Titus 'Tick' Wills
- Dope · The Narrator (Voice), Producer
- Empire · Eddie Barker
- Taken 3 · Inspector Frank Dotzler
- Star Wars Rebels · Saw Gerrera (Voice)
- Two Men in Town · William Garnett
- Food Chains
- Repentance · Angel
- Zulu · Ali Sokhela
- Black Nativity · Reverend Cornell Cobbs
- Making a Scene | 11 Performances
- Out of the Furnace · Chief Wesley Barnes
- Mysteries of the Unseen World · Narrator
- The Butler · Cecil Gaines
- Rising from Ashes · Narrator, Executive producer
- Fruitvale Station · Producer
- Pawn · Will
- The Last Stand · Agent John Bannister
- A Dark Truth · Francisco Francis
- Freelancers · Dennis Larue
- Catch.44 · Ronny
- A Man's Story · Self
- Serving Life · Narrator (Voice), Executive producer
- Monte Carlo · Executive producer
- Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior · Sam Cooper
- Lullaby for Pi · George
- 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift · (archive footage)
- The Experiment · Barris
- My Own Love Song · Joey
- Repo Men · Jake