Forest Whitaker

Acting · Born 1961-07-15 in Longview, Texas, USA

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…

Filmography

• Smoke as Cyrus Cole
• The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin
• Good Morning, Vietnam as Edward Garlick
• Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai as Ghost Dog
• Bloodsport as Rawlins
• The Great Debaters as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
• The Butler as Cecil Gaines
• Big George Foreman as Doc Broadus
• Southpaw as Titus 'Tick' Wills
• Arrival as Colonel Weber

TV

• The Shield as Jon Kavanaugh
• Hill Street Blues
• Criminal Minds as Sam Cooper
• ER as Curtis Ames
• Star Wars Rebels as Saw Gerrera (voice)
• Godfather of Harlem as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
• Andor as Saw Gerrera
• Inside the Actors Studio as Self
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
• American Dad! as Turlington (voice)