Forest Whitaker

American actor and director

Also known as: Forest Steven Whitaker

Written by Pat Bauer

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Forest Steven Whitaker

Born:: July 15, 1961, Longview, Texas, U.S.

Also Known As:: Forest Steven Whitaker

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (2007); Academy Award (2007): Actor in a Leading Role; Emmy Award (2003): Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Golden Globe Award (2007): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Notable Works:: “First Daughter”; “Hope Floats”; “Waiting to Exhale”

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Godfather of Harlem" (2019); "Finding Steve McQueen" (2019); "City of Lies" (2018); "Empire" (2017–2018); "How It Ends" (2018); "Black Panther" (2018); "Burden" (2018); "Sorry to Bother You" (2018); "Star Wars Rebels" (2017); "The Forgiven" (2017); "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016); "Arrival" (2016); "Roots" (2016); "Southpaw" (2015); "Dope" (2015); "Taken 3" (2014); "Two Men in Town" (2014); "Black Nativity" (2013); "Out of the Furnace" (2013); "The Butler" (2013); "Zulu" (2013); "Pawn" (2013); "Repentance" (2013); "The Last Stand" (2013); "A Dark Truth" (2012); "Freelancers" (2012); "Ernest et Célestine" (2012); "Catch .44" (2011); "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (2011); "Lullaby for Pi" (2010); "The Experiment" (2010); "Criminal Minds" (2010); "My Own Love Song" (2010); "Repo Men" (2010); "Our Family Wedding" (2010); "Hurricane Season" (2009); "Where the Wild Things Are" (2009); "Powder Blue" (2009); "Toys in the Attic" (2009); "American Dad!" (2007–2009); "Winged Creatures" (2008); "Street Kings" (2008); "Chasseurs de dragons" (2008); "Vantage Point" (2008); "The Great Debaters" (2007); "Ripple Effect" (2007); "The Air I Breathe" (2007); "The Shield" (2006–2007); "ER" (2006–2007); "Everyone's Hero" (2006); "The Last King of Scotland" (2006); "The Marsh" (2006); "Even Money" (2006); "American Gun" (2005); "A Little Trip to Heaven" (2005); "Mary" (2005); "First Daughter" (2004); "Jiminy Glick in Lalawood" (2004); "The Twilight Zone" (2002); "Phone Booth" (2002); "Panic Room" (2002); "The Fourth Angel" (2001); "Green Dragon" (2001); "Four Dogs Playing Poker" (2000); "Battlefield Earth" (2000); "Light It Up" (1999); "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999); "Body Count" (1998); "Phenomenon" (1996); "Species" (1995); "Smoke" (1995); "Ready to Wear" (1994); "Jason's Lyric" (1994); "Blown Away" (1994); "Bank Robber" (1993); "Body Snatchers" (1993); "Consenting Adults" (1992); "The Crying Game" (1992); "Article 99" (1992); "Diary of a Hitman" (1991); "A Rage in Harlem" (1991); "Downtown" (1990); "Johnny Handsome" (1989); "Bird" (1988); "Bloodsport" (1988); "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987); "Stakeout" (1987); "Platoon" (1986); "The Color of Money" (1986); "North and South, Book II" (1986); "Amazing Stories" (1986); "North and South" (1985); "Diff'rent Strokes" (1985); "The Fall Guy" (1985); "Vision Quest" (1985); "Hill Street Blues" (1984); "Trapper John, M.D." (1984); "Cagney & Lacey" (1983); "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982); "Tag: The Assassination Game" (1982); "Making the Grade" (1982)

Forest Whitaker (born July 15, 1961, Longview, Texas, U.S.) is an American actor and director who is known for his riveting and deeply nuanced portrayals of a wide variety of characters in movies and on television, whether he is in a leading role or playing a minor character.

Whitaker grew up in Los Angeles. He played football in high school and attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on a football scholarship. He later transferred to the University of Southern California, where he studied music and acting. Whitaker first gained wide notice in a small part in the hit teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He spent the next several years making guest appearances on TV shows, including Cagney & Lacey and Hill Street Blues, before playing a pool shark who demolishes Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) in Martin Scorsese’s film The Color of Money (1986) in what film critic Pauline Kael described as a “brief, startling performance.” Whitaker also portrayed the soldier Big Harold in Oliver Stone’s harrowing Vietnam War movie Platoon (1986), and he appeared with Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987).

In 1988 Whitaker won the award for best actor at the Cannes film festival for his starring role as jazz great Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s biopic Bird. His other notable roles included the captured British soldier who persuades his Irish Republican Army captor to look after his enigmatic girlfriend Dil in The Crying Game (1992), a gay fashion designer in Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear; 1994), the best friend of the protagonist (played by John Travolta) in Phenomenon (1996), and the unsettling title hit man in Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

In the 21st century Whitaker played a police captain in the thriller Phone Booth (2002). He won an Academy Award for best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of the charismatic and brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006). Whitaker was nominated for an Emmy Award for his extended guest role in 2006 as a stroke patient on the TV medical drama series ER. He also was a cast member (2006–07) on the show The Shield and starred in the short-lived series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011). Whitaker was praised for his portrayal of White House butler Cecil Gaines in the film Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013), and he later played Colonel Weber in the science fiction movie Arrival (2016), as well as the rebel militant Saw Gerrera in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). He later had a recurring role (2017–18) in the TV series Empire, and in 2018 he appeared in the movies Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You, and Burden. He then took a starring role in the TV series Godfather of Harlem (2019– ), portraying 1960s crime boss Bumpy Johnson. In 2021 Whitaker was cast as the father of legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect.

Whitaker also began working as a director in the 1990s. His credits included Waiting to Exhale (1995), based on the 1992 novel by Terry McMillan; Hope Floats (1998); and First Daughter (2004). In addition, he played Erie in a brief 2016 Broadway revival of the short Eugene O’Neill play Hughie.

Patricia Bauer The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica