Forest Whitaker
ActingForest 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 — Acting
Arrival
Colonel Weber
Black Panther
Zuri
Havoc
Lawrence Beaumont
Platoon
Big Harold
Taken 3
Inspector Frank Dotzler
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Saw Gerrera
Southpaw
Titus 'Tick' Wills
Bloodsport
Rawlins
Panic Room
Burnham
Species
Dan Smithson, Empath
The King of Kings
Peter (voice)
The Last Stand
Agent John Bannister
The Experiment
Barris
Street Kings
Captain Jack Wander
First Daughter
Narrator (voice)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Charles Jefferson
The Butler
Cecil Gaines
Repo Men
Jake
Phone Booth
Captain Ramey
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Ghost Dog
Good Morning, Vietnam
Edward Garlick
Vantage Point
Howard Lewis
Phenomenon
Nate Pope
Out of the Furnace
Chief Wesley Barnes
Respect
C. L. Franklin
The Color of Money
Amos
Where the Wild Things Are
Ira (voice)
The Great Debaters
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Big George Foreman
Doc Broadus
Sorry to Bother You
First Equisapien / Demarius
Dope
The Narrator (voice)
The Last King of Scotland
Idi Amin
City of Lies
Jack Jackson
Blown Away
Anthony Franklin
Prêt-à-Porter
Cy Bianco
How It Ends
Tom
Finding Steve McQueen
Howard Lambert
Article 99
Dr. Sid Handleman
Our Family Wedding
Brad Boyd
Battlefield Earth
Ker
Smoke
Cyrus Cole
Zulu
Ali Sokhela
Stakeout
Det. Jack Pismo
Mr. Holland's Opus
Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Freelancers
Dennis Larue
Everyone's Hero
Lonnie Brewster (voice)
Winged Creatures
Charlie Archenault
Powder Blue
Charlie
The Crying Game
Jody
Vision Quest
Balldozer
Catch.44
Ronny
The Fourth Angel
Agent Jules Bernard
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Jeronicus Jangle
Burden
Reverend Kennedy
The Air I Breathe
Happiness
Two Men in Town
William Garnett
Body Snatchers
Major Collins
Pawn
Will
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Bird
Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Rose's Baby
Body Count
Crane
A Fall from Grace
My Own Love Song
Joey
Mary
Ted Younger
Johnny Handsome
Dr. Steven Fisher
American Gun
Carter
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Forest Whitaker
Consenting Adults
David Duttonville
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
Diary of a Hitman
Dekker
Even Money
Clyde Snow
Black Nativity
Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Hurricane Season
Al Collins
Downtown
Dennis Curren
Bank Robber
Officer Battle
Witness Protection
Steven Beck
Lush Life
Buddy Chester
The Forgiven
Desmond Tutu
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Light It Up
Officer Dante Jackson
Feast of All Saints
Daguerreotypist Picard
The Marsh
Geoffrey Hunt
A Rage in Harlem
Jackson
The Enemy Within
Col. MacKenzie Casey
Jason's Lyric
Maddog
Four Dogs Playing Poker
Mr. Ellington
The Follow
The Employer
Hands of a Stranger
Sergeant Delaney
A Dark Truth
Francisco Francis
A Man's Story
Self
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Mr. Rucker
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
Self
A Little Trip to Heaven
Abe Holt
Last Light
Fred Whitmore
Ripple Effect
Philip
Rising from Ashes
Narrator
Deacons for Defense
Marcus Clay
Green Dragon
Addie
Shooting 'Panic Room'
Self
The Misbehavers
Self
Serving Life
Narrator (voice)
Prophets of Change
Narrator
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
Self
Repentance
Angel
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
Tag: The Assassination Game
Gowdy's Bodyguard
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
Self
Lullaby for Pi
George
Criminal Justice
Jessie Williams
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
Self
Odyssey in Rome
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
Self
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
Self
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Lion
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
Narrator
Before the Music Dies
Self - Narrator (voice)
Food Chains
Mysteries of the Unseen World
Narrator
I Am You
Narrator (voice)
Making of Phone Booth
Self
Seaweed Stories
Narrator (voice)
The Grand Baby
to Crinkle their Wrist, Perfumed Splendour
Ghost Dog (archive footage)
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
Narrator (voice)
The Paperboy
Narrator
Sewing Hope
Narrator (voice)
Filmography — Crew
First Daughter
Director
Fruitvale Station
Producer
Sorry to Bother You
Producer
Dope
Producer
Hope Floats
Director
Waiting to Exhale
Director
Chasing Papi
Producer
Powder Blue
Producer
Passing
Producer
Roxanne Roxanne
Producer
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Producer
Strapped
Director
To Live and Die and Live
Producer
Transplant
Producer
Devil's Pie: D'Angelo
Producer
For the Sake of Peace
Producer
Kassim the Dream
Producer
Rosetta
Producer