Forest Whitaker
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.
Acting (122 movies)
Blown Away
1994
Johnny Handsome
1989
Street Kings
2008
Smoke
1995
The Last King of Scotland
2006
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987
Phone Booth
2003
Prêt-à-Porter
1994
Panic Room
2002
Body Snatchers
1993
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999
Battlefield Earth
2000
Jason's Lyric
1994
The Marsh
2006
Body Count
1998
The Crying Game
1992
Bloodsport
1988
Vantage Point
2008
Repo Men
2010
Bird
1988
The Color of Money
1986
Hurricane Season
2010
Article 99
1992
Phenomenon
1996
Species
1995
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
Our Family Wedding
2010
The Air I Breathe
2007
Green Dragon
2001
The Great Debaters
2007
A Rage in Harlem
1991
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
A Little Trip to Heaven
2005
Downtown
1990
The Experiment
2010
American Gun
2005
My Own Love Song
2010
Consenting Adults
1992
Winged Creatures
2009
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
2010
Where the Wild Things Are
2009
Mary
2005
Deacons for Defense
2005
Lullaby for Pi
2010
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
2009
Powder Blue
2009
Light It Up
1999
Even Money
2007
Diary of a Hitman
1991
Repentance
2014
Last Light
1993
Lush Life
1993
Feast of All Saints
2001
Catch.44
2011
The Fourth Angel
2001
The Last Stand
2013
The Enemy Within
1994
Witness Protection
2011
Serving Life
2011
Freelancers
2012
The Butler
2013
A Dark Truth
2012
Out of the Furnace
2013
Pawn
2013
Zulu
2013
Black Nativity
2013
Two Men in Town
2014
Criminal Justice
1990
Taken 3
2014
Big George Foreman
2023
to Crinkle their Wrist, Perfumed Splendour
2023
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
2022
Southpaw
2015
Prophets of Change
2022
Everyone's Hero
2006
Arrival
2016
Dope
2015
Mysteries of the Unseen World
2013
Odyssey in Rome
2005
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
Stakeout
1987
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005
The Follow
2001
The King of Kings
2025
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
Hands of a Stranger
1987
Black Panther
2018
Bank Robber
1993
Burden
2018
City of Lies
2018
Finding Steve McQueen
2019
Ripple Effect
2007
Tag: The Assassination Game
1982
The Forgiven
2018
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
2018
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001
A Man's Story
2011
Platoon
1986
Directing (4 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Green Dragon | 2001 | Executive Producer |
| Chasing Papi | 2003 | Producer |
| First Daughter | 2004 | Executive Producer |
| American Gun | 2005 | Executive Producer |
| Ripple Effect | 2007 | Executive Producer |
| Powder Blue | 2009 | Producer |
| Kassim the Dream | 2009 | Producer |
| Monte Carlo | 2011 | Executive Producer |
| Serving Life | 2011 | Executive Producer |
| Fruitvale Station | 2013 | Producer |
| Rising from Ashes | 2013 | Executive Producer |
| Dope | 2015 | Producer |
| Songs My Brothers Taught Me | 2015 | Producer |
| Roxanne Roxanne | 2017 | Producer |
| Sorry to Bother You | 2018 | Producer |
| A Kid from Coney Island | 2019 | Executive Producer |
| Devil's Pie: D'Angelo | 2019 | Producer |
| Passing | 2021 | Producer |
| For the Sake of Peace | 2022 | Producer |
| Fancy Dance | 2024 | Executive Producer |
| Transplant | 2024 | Producer |
| To Live and Die and Live | 2025 | Producer |
| Lucky Lu | 2026 | Executive Producer |