ACTOR
Denzel Washington
- Known for
- The Great Debaters (2007), Courage Under Fire (1996), He Got Game (1998), Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
79 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Denzel Washington is an actor best known for The Great Debaters, Courage Under Fire and He Got Game.
13 Facts From Denzel Washington's Career
- #002
He is the first African-American actor to win two Oscars.
- #010
He became the sixth actor to win Oscars for both lead and supporting acting. The other five are Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemmon and Jack Nicholson.
- #018
As of 2018, Denzel Washington is the Black actor or actress with the most Oscar wins (two) and the most nominations (nine) in Oscar history.
- #019
At the 2002 Academy Awards, Denzel Washington won Best Actor for Training Day (2001), Halle Berry won Best Actress for Monster's Ball (2001), and Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Award (2001), marking the first time three African-Americans dominated the Oscars to that degree in the ceremony's history.
- #022
Denzel Washington is only the second Black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar in a leading role (for Training Day (2001)), after Sidney Poitier. Poitier received an honorary Oscar the same year.
- #026
Denzel Washington won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Fences.
- #034
Denzel Washington directed two actors to Oscar-nominated performances: Viola Davis and himself. Davis won for her performance in Fences (2016).
- #045
The longest gap he has gone without an Oscar nomination is the 11 years between Training Day (2001) and Flight (2012).
- #052
He was named America's Favorite Movie Star in the 2006 and 2007 Harris Polls.
- #063
As of 2023, actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali, sound engineers Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II, and costume designer Ruth E. Carter are the only African-Americans to have won two Oscars.
- #071
Denzel Washington was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Joe Biden at a White House ceremony on January 4, 2025, for his services to the film industry.
- #073
Denzel Washington has appeared in two films nominated for Best Picture: A Soldier's Story (1984) and Fences (2016). He also directed Fences, which was a Best Picture nominee.
- #078
By his own admission, Denzel Washington fell into depression and jealousy for several years after being nominated for the Best Actor Oscar in 2000 for his role in The Hurricane (1999) and then losing to Kevin Spacey for American Beauty (1999), which contributed to his alcoholism. Finally winning the Best Actor Oscar in 2002 for Training Day (2001) was not enough to ease the pain of that loss, and he remained depressed for a while.
Continue through the archive
- Highest 2 Lowestas David King
- Much Ado About Nothingas Don Pedro
- The Tragedy of Macbethas Macbeth
- Carbon Copyas Roger Porter
- Roman J. Israel, Esq.as Roman J. Israel, Esq.
- The Great Debatersas Melvin B. Tolson
- He Got Gameas Jake Shuttlesworth
- Devil in a Blue Dressas Easy Rawlins
- Courage Under Fireas Nat Serling
- Ricochetas Nick Styles
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