Forest Whitaker
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
Criminal Minds
Sam Cooper
American Dad!
Turlington (voice)
Andor
Saw Gerrera
ER
Curtis Ames
The Shield
Jon Kavanaugh
Star Wars Rebels
Saw Gerrera (voice)
Hill Street Blues
American Idol
Self
Amazing Stories
Jerry
Empire
Eddie Barker
Cagney & Lacey
Night Manager
The Oscars
Self - Presenter
The Oscars
Self
The Twilight Zone
Self - Host
Godfather of Harlem
Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
Black Panther
Zuri
North and South
Cuffey
Arrival
Colonel Weber
Taken 3
Inspector Frank Dotzler
Where Are They Now?
Self
Extrapolations
Auggie Bolo
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Saw Gerrera
Platoon
Big Harold
Southpaw
Titus 'Tick' Wills
Catch.44
Ronny
Repo Men
Jake
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Sam Cooper
Havoc
Lawrence Beaumont
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
Self
Body Snatchers
Major Collins
Mary
Ted Younger
Panic Room
Burnham
Powder Blue
Charlie
Roots
Fiddler
Dope
The Narrator (voice)
Big George Foreman
Doc Broadus
Bloodsport
Rawlins
The Butler
Cecil Gaines
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Charles Jefferson
Street Kings
Captain Jack Wander
Repentance
Angel
Species
Dan Smithson, Empath
The Hire
The Employer
Body Count
Crane
The Last Stand
Agent John Bannister
Downtown
Dennis Curren
Sorry to Bother You
First Equisapien / Demarius
Stakeout
Det. Jack Pismo
Vantage Point
Howard Lewis
The King of Kings
Peter (voice)
Phenomenon
Nate Pope
Out of the Furnace
Chief Wesley Barnes
Phone Booth
Captain Ramey
The Great Debaters
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Where the Wild Things Are
Ira (voice)
The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin
Emperor of Ocean Park
Oliver Garland
Burden
Reverend Kennedy
Good Morning, Vietnam
Edward Garlick
Prêt-à-Porter
Cy Bianco
Everyone's Hero
Lonnie Brewster (voice)
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog
First Daughter
Narrator (voice)
City of Lies
Jack Jackson
Blown Away
Anthony Franklin
How It Ends
Tom
Respect
C. L. Franklin
The Crying Game
Jody
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Jeronicus Jangle
The Color of Money
Amos
Smoke
Cyrus Cole
Serving Life
Narrator (voice)
Food Chains
My Own Love Song
Joey
My Generation
Narrator
Tag: The Assassination Game
Gowdy's Bodyguard
The Experiment
Barris
A Dark Truth
Francisco Francis
Freelancers
Dennis Larue
Battlefield Earth
Ker
The Air I Breathe
Happiness
Bird
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Mr. Holland's Opus
Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Zulu
Ali Sokhela
Johnny Handsome
Dr. Steven Fisher
Article 99
Dr. Sid Handleman
Winged Creatures
Charlie Archenault
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
Self
Vision Quest
Balldozer
Consenting Adults
David Duttonville
Even Money
Clyde Snow
Diff'rent Strokes
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Forest Whitaker
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self
Black Nativity
Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Two Men in Town
William Garnett
Pawn
Will
Our Family Wedding
Brad Boyd
The Forgiven
Desmond Tutu
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jason's Lyric
Maddog
Finding Steve McQueen
Howard Lambert
Hurricane Season
Al Collins
Feast of All Saints
Daguerreotypist Picard
A Man's Story
Self
American Gun
Carter
Hands of a Stranger
Sergeant Delaney
Light It Up
Officer Dante Jackson
Deacons for Defense
Marcus Clay
The Enemy Within
Col. MacKenzie Casey
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
Self
Star Wars: Go Rogue
Saw Gerrera (voice)
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Mr. Rucker
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
Self
A Rage in Harlem
Jackson
Diary of a Hitman
Dekker
A Little Trip to Heaven
Abe Holt
The Fourth Angel
Agent Jules Bernard
Last Light
Fred Whitmore
The Marsh
Geoffrey Hunt
Shooting 'Panic Room'
Self
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
Self
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
The Paperboy
Narrator
Bank Robber
Officer Battle
Lush Life
Buddy Chester
Four Dogs Playing Poker
Mr. Ellington
Witness Protection
Steven Beck
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
Self
Making of Phone Booth
Self
Lullaby for Pi
George
The Follow
The Employer
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
Self
Rose's Baby
Ripple Effect
Philip
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Lion
Green Dragon
Addie
Odyssey in Rome
Criminal Justice
Jessie Williams
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
Self
Prophets of Change
Narrator
to Crinkle their Wrist, Perfumed Splendour
Ghost Dog (archive footage)
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
Narrator
A Fall from Grace
Before the Music Dies
Self - Narrator (voice)
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
Sewing Hope
Narrator (voice)
Rising from Ashes
Narrator
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
Narrator (voice)
The Misbehavers
Self
The Grand Baby
Mysteries of the Unseen World
Narrator
Seaweed Stories
Narrator (voice)
I Am You
Narrator (voice)
The Daily Show
Self
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
The View
Self
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Self
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Live from E!
Self
Today
Self
The Early Show
Self
Cannes Festival
Self - Guest
Inside the Actors Studio
Self