Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker

CountryUnited States United States
GenderMale
BirthdayJul 15, 1961
BiographyForest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.

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 The Color of Money (1986), Panic Room (2002), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. Whitaker starred in the Star Wars franchise as Saw Gerrera, appearing in the film Rogue One (2016), in the television series Star Wars: Rebels (2017) and Andor (2022–2025), and would appear in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019).

Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). 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). On television, he portrayed Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the fifth and sixth seasons of The Shield (2006–2007) and since 2019, he has starred as Bumpy Johnson in the Epix crime drama series Godfather of Harlem.

He made his Broadway debut in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (2016). Apart from his acting 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 is the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.

Biography from the Wikipedia article Forest Whitaker. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Emperor of Ocean Park
To Be Determined

Emperor of Ocean Park

as Judge Oliver Garland
Godfather of Harlem
To Be Determined

Godfather of Harlem

as Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson
Andor
Ended

Andor

as Saw Gerrera
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Ended

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

as Samuel "Sam" "Coop" Cooper
Extrapolations
Ended

Extrapolations

as August "Auggie" Bolo
My Generation
Ended

My Generation

as Narrator
North and South
Ended

North and South

as Cuffey
Roots
Ended

Roots

as Fiddler
The Twilight Zone
Ended

The Twilight Zone

as Host

Part of Crew

Godfather of Harlem
To Be Determined

Godfather of Harlem

as Executive Producer

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