Known For
Acting
Born
Jul 15, 1961
Place of Birth
Longview, Texas, USA
Credits
193 titles
Forest Whitaker
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
Rose's Baby
Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo
Self (archive footage)
Lucky Lu
Executive Producer
To Live and Die and Live
Producer
Havoc
Lawrence Beaumont
The King of Kings
Peter (voice)
Transplant
Producer
My Generation
Self - Narrator (voice)
Seaweed Stories
Self - Narrator (voice)
Hollywood Black
Self
The Emperor of Ocean Park
Judge Oliver Garland
Fancy Dance
Executive Producer
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)
For the Sake of Peace
Producer
Cannes Festival
Self - Guest
Passing
Producer
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
Devil's Pie: D'Angelo
Producer
A Kid from Coney Island
Executive Producer
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
Roxanne Roxanne
Producer
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
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Producer
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self