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Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

Actor and producer, also director · Born December 28, 1954 (71) · Mount Vernon, New York, USA

2 Oscars · 3 Golden Globes · Screen Actors Guild Award winner · 8 other major award bodies

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, an Actor Award, two Golden Globes, two Silver Bears and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century. He has also been honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $5.1 billion worldwide. After training at the American Conservatory Theater, Washington began his career in theatre, acting in Off-Broadway performances. He first came to prominence in the NBC medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), and in the war film A Soldier's Story (1984). Washington won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for playing an American Civil War soldier in the war drama Glory (1989) and for Best Actor for playing a corrupt police officer in the crime thriller Training Day (2001). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), Fences (2016), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). Washington has starred in other notable films, including The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia (both 1993); Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress (both 1995); He Got Game (1998); Remember the Titans (2000); Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu, Inside Man (both 2006); American Gangster (2007); Unstoppable, The Book of Eli (both 2010); The Equalizer trilogy (2014–2023), Gladiator II (2024), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Washington has also directed the films Antwone Fisher (2002), The Great Debaters (2007), Fences (2016), and A Journal for Jordan (2021). On stage, he has acted in The Public Theater productions of Coriolanus (1979) and The Tragedy of Richard III (1990). He made his Broadway debut in the Ron Milner play Checkmates (1988). He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a disillusioned working-class father in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play Fences (2010). He has also acted in the Broadway revivals of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (2005) and Othello (2025), Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun (2014), and Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh (2018).

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 28, 1954 (71)
From
Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Works as
Actor and producer, also director
Titles
64 on MovieCove · 77 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 25% in 30 days

What are Denzel Washington's films like?

Across their 63 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Society.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 62 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Light 8 · Serious 15 · Dark 39

A split, not a type: Grounded 35 · Stylized 21 · Heightened 6

Gentle 6 · Charged 17 · Intense 39

Steady 16 · Shifting 39 · Whiplash 7

Straight-faced 48 · Some laughs 11 · Funny 3

Slow burn 17 · Even-paced 35 · Relentless 10

Casual 13 · Engaged 35 · Full focus 14

A split, not a type: Easy watch 10 · Affecting 19 · Heavy 33

Resolved 43 · Open-ended 15 · Ambiguous 4

Roles they play

58 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 33 of 58 analyzed roles.

Hero
33 of 58
Mentor
9 of 58
Shadow
7 of 58
Ally
4 of 58
Shapeshifter
3 of 58
Threshold guardian
1 of 58
Trickster
1 of 58
Show the 58 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
54
Melancholic
32
Hopeful
17
Thrilling
15
Dread
13
Other
50

How their films end · 13 with a twist

  • Happy12
  • Bittersweet41
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous8

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Denzel Washington's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 49 of their 64 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (17).

Subscription and free streaming for Denzel Washington's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

77 credits, 64 with a MovieCove page; 53 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Black Panther 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2028)

    Actor

  • Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
  • Highest 2 Lowest(2025)

    as David King

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
  • Gladiator II(2024)

    as Macrinus

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
  • The Piano Lesson(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
  • The Wait(2023)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
  • The Equalizer 3(2023)

    Producer · as Robert McCall

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
  • A Journal for Jordan(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • The Tragedy of Macbeth(2021)

    as Macbeth

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
  • The Little Things(2021)

    as Joe 'Deke' Deacon

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
  • The Equalizer 2(2018)

    Producer · as Robert McCall

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
  • Roman J. Israel, Esq.(2017)

    Producer · as Roman J. Israel

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
  • Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary(2016)

    as John Coltrane (voice)

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
  • Fences(2016)

    Director · Producer · as Troy Maxson

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
  • The Magnificent Seven(2016)

    as Sam Chisolm

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
  • The Equalizer(2014)

    Producer · as Robert McCall

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
  • 2 Guns(2013)

    as Robert 'Bobby' Trench

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
  • Flight(2012)

    as Whip Whitaker

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
  • Safe House(2012)

    Executive Producer · as Tobin Frost

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
  • Unstoppable(2010)

    as Frank Barnes

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
  • The Book of Eli(2010)

    Producer · as Eli

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
  • The Taking of Pelham 123(2009)

    as Walter Garber

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
  • The Great Debaters(2007)

    Director · as Melvin B. Tolson

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
  • American Gangster(2007)

    as Frank Lucas

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
  • Deja Vu(2006)

    as Doug Carlin

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
  • Inside Man(2006)

    as Keith Frazier

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • Grey's Anatomy(2005)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all shows
  • The Manchurian Candidate(2004)

    as Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • Man on Fire(2004)

    as John W. Creasy

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • Out of Time(2003)

    as Matt Lee Whitlock

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
  • Antwone Fisher(2002)

    Director · Producer · as Dr. Jerome Davenport

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
  • John Q(2002)

    as John Quincy Archibald

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
  • Training Day(2001)

    as Alonzo

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Producer

  • Remember the Titans(2000)

    as Coach Herman Boone

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
  • The Bone Collector(1999)

    as Lincoln Rhyme

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • The Hurricane(1999)

    as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
  • The Siege(1998)

    as Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
  • He Got Game(1998)

    as Jake Shuttlesworth

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Fallen(1998)

    as John Hobbes

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
  • Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special(1997)

    as Humpty Dumpty / The Crooked Man (voice)

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
  • The Preacher's Wife(1996)

    as Dudley

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • Courage Under Fire(1996)

    as Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
  • Devil in a Blue Dress(1995)

    as Easy Rawlins

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
  • Virtuosity(1995)

    as Parker Barnes

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
  • Crimson Tide(1995)

    as Lt. Commander Ronald "Ron" Hunter

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
  • Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child(1995)

    Show 1 episode · as Humpty Dumpty / Crooked Man (voice) · as King Omar (voice)

    Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all shows
  • Philadelphia(1993)

    as Joe Miller

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • The Pelican Brief(1993)

    as Gray Grantham

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
  • Much Ado About Nothing(1993)

    as Don Pedro

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
  • Malcolm X(1992)

    as Malcolm X

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
  • Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Ricochet(1991)

    as Nick Styles

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • Mississippi Masala(1991)

    as Demetrius Williams

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Rabbit Ears - Anansi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Rabbit Ears - John Henry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Mo' Better Blues(1990)

    as Bleek Gilliam

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
  • Heart Condition(1990)

    as Napoleon Stone

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
  • Glory(1989)

    as Pvt. Trip

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
  • The Mighty Quinn(1989)

    as Xavier Quinn

    Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all films
  • American Experience(1988)

    Show 1 episode · as Narrator (voice)

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
  • The George McKenna Story(1986)

    as George McKenna

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
  • For Queen & Country (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    as Reuben

  • Cry Freedom(1987)

    as Steve Biko

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
  • License to Kill(1984)

    as Martin Sawyer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
  • Power(1986)

    as Arnold Billings

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
  • A Soldier's Story(1984)

    as Private First Class Peterson

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
  • St. Elsewhere (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 137 episodes · as Philip Chandler

  • Carbon Copy(1981)

    as Roger Porter

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
  • Flesh & Blood(1979)

    as Kirk

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
  • Flesh & Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Show 2 episodes · as Kirk

  • Coriolanus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    as Roman Soldier / Volscian Soldier

  • Wilma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)

    as Robert Eldridge, age 18

  • Here Comes the Flood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • Untitled Hannibal Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer · as Hannibal the Great

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 78 titles, 75 of them dated from 1977 to 2025; peak year 1999.

Film career

MilestoneAward winNomination
19772025

Peak 1999 · steadily prominent in film for years. Top draw in 50 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

Show 7 more milestones

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting72 of 78: 62 only acting, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thDirecting5 of 78: 1 only directing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score87thProducing13 of 78: 3 only producing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score74thOther crew1 of 78: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

78 titles, 11 with more than one role — acting and producing overlap on 9 of them.

By decade

1970s4 · acting1980s11 · acting1990s25 · acting2000s14 · 12 acting · 4 crew2010s11 · 11 acting · 6 crew2020s10 · 6 acting · 5 crew

Billing

usually 1st · top billed in 80% of 55 roles
81919601061121

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

Awards

2 Oscars, 3 Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award and 6 other major awards from 48 major nominations, 1988–2025.

WinNomination
  1. 2025
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
    • +3 other major bodies · 1 win and 2 nominations
      • Cannes award, won
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Supporting Actor
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best First Feature
  2. 2022
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Actor
  3. 2021
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Feature
  4. 2018
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
  5. 2017
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
  6. 2016
    • Golden Globe, won
    • +1 other major body · 2 nominations
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Actor
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
  7. 2013
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Actor
  8. 2008
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Show 9 earlier years
  1. 2003
    • Producers Guild Award, won
    • Critics Choice Award, won
  2. 2002
    • Oscar, won · Best Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
  3. 2001
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Non-Fiction Special
  4. 2000
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • Screen Actors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
    • +1 other major body · 1 win
      • Berlinale award, won · Best Actor
  5. 1996
    • Grammy Award, nominated · Best Spoken Word Album for Children
  6. 1995
    • Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Informational Special
  7. 1993
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Actor in a Leading Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 wins
      • Berlinale award, won · Best Actor
      • Sundance award, won
  8. 1990
    • Oscar, won · Best Actor in a Supporting Role
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
  9. 1988
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Actor in a Supporting Role
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Denzel Washington's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 61; across their 62 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 62

Approval · how many liked their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 62

Reach · how many have seen their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 62

Midcredits score across 64 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up31
  • 50th to 74th16
  • 25th to 49th15
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

36 of their 64 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved10
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser36
  • Broadly Agreed6
  • Mixed9

Reviewers score the acting 79/100 in their films, across 57 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 57. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Denzel Washington's work okay for kids?

Across up to 48 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore45 titles37–91 · median 67 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity48 titles13–65 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity45 titles41–87 · median 70 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs42 titles21–72 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense43 titles40–84 · median 62 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Denzel Washington work with?

People who share at least 2 of Denzel Washington's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Todd Black shares the most, 13.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles