Forest Whitaker
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African American actor Forest Whitaker got into college on a football scholarship, but upon transferring to the University of Southern California, he majored in music – winning two more scholarships in that field. Still another scholarship, this one set up by Sir John Gielgud, came Whitaker's way when he entered the drama program at Berkeley. A seasoned stage veteran at 21, the baby-faced Whitaker appeared in his first film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, in 1982, coincidentally making his debut in the role of a football player.
Four years later, Whitaker attracted critical attention in the role of the hulking young pool player who flummoxes Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) in The Color of Money (1986). He was subsequently selected by director Clint Eastwood for the prize role of jazz great Charlie "Bird" Parker in Bird (1988), which won him the Best Actor award at Cannes.
In 1992, Whitaker gained true fame for his role as a captured British soldier whose prior relationship with the mysterious Dil (Jaye Davidson) catalyzes the plot of The Crying Game). The role proved to be Whitaker's true breakthrough, and he went on to work steadily throughout the rest of the decade in films of almost every possible genre. For Robert Altman's galumphing fashion epic Pret-A-Porter (1994), the actor portrayed a fashion designer who has a tryst with fellow designer Richard E. Grant; the sci-fi thriller Species (1995) featured him as an empath on the trail of an alien, while in Smoke (1995), Wayne Wang's fine adaptation of several Paul Auster stories, Whitaker portrayed an errant father confronted by his long-unseen son. He ended the century by portraying the title character in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), and began the 21st century by starring, appropriately enough, in the futuristic action film Battleship Earth (2000).
In addition to his work in front of the camera, Whitaker has also stepped behind it. In 1995, he made his feature directorial debut with Waiting to Exhale, the popular adaptation of Terry McMillan's novel of the same name. Three years later, he was at the helm of Hope Floats, another melodrama starring Sandra Bullock as a woman who moves back to her Texas hometown after discovering her husband's infidelity.
Filmography
- Street Kings (2008)
- Winged Creatures (2008)
- Where the Wild Things Are (2008)
- The Great Debaters (2007)
- Vantage Point (2007)
- The Air I Breathe (2007)
- "ER" (6 episodes, 2006-2007)
- "Late Show with David Letterman" (2 episodes, 2007)
- Everyone's Hero (2006)
- The Last King of Scotland (2006)
- The Marsh (2006)
- "The Shield" (12 episodes, 2006)
- Even Money (2006)
- Ripple Effect (2006)
- American Gun (2005)
- A Little Trip to Heaven (2005)
- Mary (2005)
- First Daughter (2004)
- "The Twilight Zone" (10 episodes, 2002-2003)
- Deacons for Defense (2003)
- Phone Booth (2002)
- Panic Room (2002)
- Feast of All Saints (2001)
- The Fourth Angel (2001)
- The Follow (2001)
- Green Dragon (2001)
- Four Dogs Playing Poker (2000)
- Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (2000)
- Witness Protection (1999)
- Light It Up (1999)
- Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
- Body Count (1998)
- Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
- Phenomenon (1996)
- Species (1995)
- Smoke (1995)
- Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
- Jason's Lyric (1994)
- Blown Away (1994)
- The Enemy Within (1994)
- Bank Robber (1993)
- Lush Life (1993)
- Last Light (1993)
- Body Snatchers (1993)
- Consenting Adults (1992)
- The Crying Game (1992)
- Article 99 (1992)
- Diary of a Hitman (1991)
- A Rage in Harlem (1991)
- Criminal Justice (1990)
- Downtown (1990)
- Johnny Handsome (1989)
- Bird (1988)
- Bloodsport (1988)
- Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
- Stakeout (1987)
- Hands of a Stranger (1987)
- Platoon (1986)
- The Color of Money (1986)
- "North and South, Book II" (1986)
- "Amazing Stories" (1 episode, 1986)
- "North and South" (1985)
- "Diff'rent Strokes" (1 episode, 1985)
- "The Fall Guy" (1 episode, 1985)
- Vision Quest (1985)
- The Grand Baby (1985)
- "Hill Street Blues" (1 episode, 1984)
- "Trapper John, M.D." (1 episode, 1984)
- "Cagney & Lacey" (1 episode, 1983)
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
- Tag: The Assassination Game (1982)
- "Making the Grade" (1 episode, 1982)
Awards
- BAFTA Best Actor in a Leading Role "The Last King of Scotland" 2007
- Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor "The Last King of Scotland" 2007
- Golden Globe Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "The Last King of Scotland" 2007
- National Society of Film Critics Best Actor "The Last King of Scotland" 2007
- Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role "The Last King of Scotland" 2007
- Boston Society of Film Critics Best Actor "The Last King of Scotland" 2006
- National Board of Review Best Actor "The Last King of Scotland" 2006
- New York Film Critics Circle Best Actor "The Last King of Scotland" 2006
- Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award "Bird" 1988
