Forest Whitaker
Forest 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.
Born: 15 July 1961
Played In
Rose's Baby
Havoc
Lawrence Beaumont
The King of Kings
Peter (voice)
Seaweed Stories
Self - Narrator (voice)
My Generation
Self - Narrator (voice)
Hollywood Black
Self
The Emperor of Ocean Park
Judge Oliver Garland
Big George Foreman
Doc Broadus
Extrapolations
Auggie Bolo
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Prophets of Change
Narrator
Andor
Saw Gerrera
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Self
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cannes Festival
Self - Guest
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
Self
Respect
C. L. Franklin
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
Self
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Jeronicus Jangle
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
Self
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self
Godfather of Harlem
Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
Finding Steve McQueen
Howard Lambert
City of Lies
Jack Jackson
Burden
Reverend Kennedy
How It Ends
Tom
Sorry to Bother You
First Equisapien / Demarius
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
Narrator (voice)
The Forgiven
Desmond Tutu
Black Panther
Zuri
Steve
Self
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
Self
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
Self
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Saw Gerrera
I Am You
Narrator (voice)
Arrival
Colonel Weber
Star Wars: Go Rogue
Saw Gerrera (voice)
Roots
Fiddler
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
Southpaw
Titus 'Tick' Wills
Dope
The Narrator (voice)
Empire
Eddie Barker
Taken 3
Inspector Frank Dotzler
Star Wars Rebels
Saw Gerrera (voice)
Two Men in Town
William Garnett
Food Chains
Repentance
Angel
Zulu
Ali Sokhela
Black Nativity
Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
Out of the Furnace
Chief Wesley Barnes
Mysteries of the Unseen World
Narrator
The Butler
Cecil Gaines
Rising from Ashes
Narrator
Pawn
Will
The Last Stand
Agent John Bannister
A Dark Truth
Francisco Francis
Freelancers
Dennis Larue
Catch.44
Ronny
A Man's Story
Self
Serving Life
Narrator (voice)
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Sam Cooper
Lullaby for Pi
George
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
The Experiment
Barris
My Own Love Song
Joey
Repo Men
Jake
Our Family Wedding
Brad Boyd
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Lion
Hurricane Season
Al Collins
Where the Wild Things Are
Ira (voice)
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
Narrator
Winged Creatures
Charlie Archenault
Powder Blue
Charlie
Street Kings
Captain Jack Wander
Vantage Point
Howard Lewis
The Great Debaters
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Ripple Effect
Philip
Even Money
Clyde Snow
The Air I Breathe
Happiness
Before the Music Dies
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin
Everyone's Hero
Lonnie Brewster (voice)
The Marsh
Geoffrey Hunt
A Little Trip to Heaven
Abe Holt
Mary
Ted Younger
Odyssey in Rome
Criminal Minds
Sam Cooper
American Gun
Carter
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Forest Whitaker
Deacons for Defense
Marcus Clay
American Dad!
Turlington (voice)
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self
The Misbehavers
Self
First Daughter
Narrator (voice)
Shooting 'Panic Room'
Self
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
Making of Phone Booth
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
Phone Booth
Captain Ramey
The Twilight Zone
Self - Host
American Idol
Self
Panic Room
Burnham
The Shield
Jon Kavanaugh
Live from E!
Self
Feast of All Saints
Daguerreotypist Picard
The Fourth Angel
Agent Jules Bernard
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
The Follow
The Employer
Green Dragon
Addie
The Hire
The Employer
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
Self
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
Self
Four Dogs Playing Poker
Mr. Ellington
Battlefield Earth
Ker
The Paperboy
Narrator
Witness Protection
Steven Beck
Light It Up
Officer Dante Jackson
The Early Show
Self
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog
Where Are They Now?
Self
Body Count
Crane
The View
Self
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Mr. Rucker
The Daily Show
Self
Phenomenon
Nate Pope
Mr. Holland's Opus
Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Species
Dan Smithson, Empath
Smoke
Cyrus Cole
Prêt-à-Porter
Cy Bianco
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
Self
ER
Curtis Ames
The Enemy Within
Col. MacKenzie Casey
Inside the Actors Studio
Self
Blown Away
Anthony Franklin
Jason's Lyric
Maddog
Bank Robber
Officer Battle
Lush Life
Buddy Chester
Last Light
Fred Whitmore
Body Snatchers
Major Collins
Consenting Adults
David Duttonville
The Crying Game
Jody
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Article 99
Dr. Sid Handleman
Diary of a Hitman
Dekker
A Rage in Harlem
Jackson
Criminal Justice
Jessie Williams
Downtown
Dennis Curren
Johnny Handsome
Dr. Steven Fisher
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self
Bird
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Bloodsport
Rawlins
Good Morning, Vietnam
Edward Garlick
Stakeout
Det. Jack Pismo
Hands of a Stranger
Sergeant Delaney
Platoon
Big Harold
The Color of Money
Amos
North and South
Cuffey
Amazing Stories
Jerry
Vision Quest
Balldozer
The Grand Baby
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Charles Jefferson
Tag: The Assassination Game
Gowdy's Bodyguard
Cagney & Lacey
Night Manager
Hill Street Blues
Diff'rent Strokes
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
The Oscars
Self - Presenter
The Oscars
Self
Today
Self
Sewing Hope
Narrator (voice)
A Fall from Grace