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Denzel Washington first studied journalism at Fordham University but then discovered an interest in acting. He made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981) and was cast on the hit TV medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982-88). He went on to appear in several hit movies, including Philadelphia, Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, American Gangster and Flight, and won Oscars for his roles in Glory and Training Day. He received an Oscar nomination for his starring role in 2016’s Fences, an adaptation of August Wilson’s Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and for the 2017 film Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Washington was born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the son of a Pentecostal minister and a beauty shop owner and has two siblings. Washington first took the stage around the age of seven, appearing in a talent show at his local Boys & Girls Club. The club provided him with a safe place to be and to keep him out of trouble. At 14, his parents divorced and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school.
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 and graduated with a B.A. in Drama and Journalism in 1977. Washington later won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and afterward worked with the Shakespeare in the Park ensemble.
Actor Denzel Washington has earned popular and critical acclaim for his roles in an array of feature films, including ‘Glory,’ ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘Training Day’ and ‘Fences.’