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Forest Whitaker
Known for: ActingForest 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.
Filmography 109
Black Panther
as Zuri 
Godfather of Harlem
as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson 
Arrival
as Colonel Weber 
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
as Saw Gerrera 
Taken 3
as Inspector Frank Dotzler 
Platoon
as Big Harold 
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
as Charles Jefferson 
Respect
as C. L. Franklin 
Phenomenon
as Nate Pope 
The King of Kings
as Peter (voice) 
Southpaw
as Titus 'Tick' Wills 
Passing
Producer 
Vantage Point
as Howard Lewis 
Stakeout
as Det. Jack Pismo 
The Last Stand
as Agent John Bannister 
Roots
as Fiddler 
Bloodsport
as Rawlins 
Phone Booth
as Captain Ramey 
Street Kings
as Captain Jack Wander 
Panic Room
as Burnham 
Havoc
as Lawrence Beaumont 
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
as Sam Cooper 
First Daughter
Director 
The Butler
as Cecil Gaines 
The Color of Money
as Amos 
Sorry to Bother You
as First Equisapien / Demarius 
Out of the Furnace
as Chief Wesley Barnes 
Repo Men
as Jake 
The Emperor of Ocean Park
as Judge Oliver Garland 
Where the Wild Things Are
as Ira (voice) 
Big George Foreman
as Doc Broadus 
How It Ends
as Tom 
City of Lies
as Jack Jackson 
The Air I Breathe
as Happiness 
Vision Quest
as Balldozer 
Good Morning, Vietnam
as Edward Garlick 
Hollywood Black
as Self 
Species
as Dan Smithson, Empath 
The Great Debaters
as Dr. James Farmer Sr. 
The Experiment
as Barris 
Even Money
as Clyde Snow 
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
as Ghost Dog 
Blown Away
as Anthony Franklin 
The Last King of Scotland
as Idi Amin 
Fruitvale Station
Producer 
Battlefield Earth
as Ker 
Hope Floats
Director 
Smoke
as Cyrus Cole 
The Crying Game
as Jody 
Article 99
as Dr. Sid Handleman 
Prêt-à-Porter
as Cy Bianco 
Waiting to Exhale
Director 
Body Snatchers
as Major Collins 
Chasing Papi
Producer 
Winged Creatures
as Charlie Archenault 
Repentance
as Angel 
Dope
as The Narrator (voice) 
Zulu
as Ali Sokhela 
The Forgiven
as Desmond Tutu 
Consenting Adults
as David Duttonville 
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
as Jeronicus Jangle 
Powder Blue
as Charlie 
Catch.44
as Ronny 
My Own Love Song
as Joey 
Mary
as Ted Younger 
Bird
as Charlie 'Bird' Parker 
Johnny Handsome
as Dr. Steven Fisher 
Burden
as Reverend Kennedy 
A Dark Truth
as Francisco Francis 
Our Family Wedding
as Brad Boyd 
Body Count
as Crane 
Freelancers
as Dennis Larue 
Pawn
as Will 
Diary of a Hitman
as Dekker 
Hurricane Season
as Al Collins 
Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo
as Self (archive footage) 
Finding Steve McQueen
as Howard Lambert 
A Rage in Harlem
as Jackson 
Witness Protection
as Steven Beck 
The Enemy Within
as Col. MacKenzie Casey 
The Marsh
as Geoffrey Hunt 
Light It Up
as Officer Dante Jackson 
Four Dogs Playing Poker
as Mr. Ellington 
The Fourth Angel
as Agent Jules Bernard 
Two Men in Town
as William Garnett 
Downtown
as Dennis Curren 
Jason's Lyric
as Maddog 
A Little Trip to Heaven
as Abe Holt 
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
as Narrator 
Black Nativity
as Reverend Cornell Cobbs 
Green Dragon
as Addie 
Roxanne Roxanne
Producer 
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Producer 
To Live and Die and Live
Producer 
American Gun
as Carter 
A Man's Story
as Self 
Bank Robber
as Officer Battle 
Ripple Effect
as Philip 
Lullaby for Pi
as George 
Criminal Justice
as Jessie Williams 
Deacons for Defense
as Marcus Clay 
Kassim the Dream
Producer