Actor

Forest Whitaker

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Acting credits

164

Prolific

Very extensive acting filmography.

TMDB popularity

5.4

Moderate attention

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 141Series: 42Crew credits: 32

TMDB ID: 2178

IMDb ID: nm0001845

Known for: Acting

Born: July 15, 1961

Age: 65

Place of birth: Longview, Texas, USA

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1952 - 2027

Years active: 76

Average TMDB rating: 6.47

Wikidata: Q182763

Also known as

Forest Steven Whitaker III • Forest Steven Whitaker • פורסט ויטאקר

Other jobs

Producer (13)Executive Producer (12)Director (4)Co-Executive Producer (1)Co-Producer (1)Thanks (1)

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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.