Acting · Longview, Texas, USA · Born July 15, 1961
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.
Rose's Baby
2027
MovieHavoc
2025
as Lawrence Beaumont
MovieThe King of Kings
2025
as Peter (voice)
MovieSeaweed Stories
2024
as Self - Narrator (voice)
TVMy Generation
2024
as Self - Narrator (voice)
TVHollywood Black
2024
as Self
TVThe Emperor of Ocean Park
2024
as Judge Oliver Garland
MovieBig George Foreman
2023
as Doc Broadus
TVExtrapolations
2023
as Auggie Bolo
MovieClint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022
as Self (archive footage)
MovieProphets of Change
2022
as Narrator
TVAndor
2022
as Saw Gerrera
TVThe Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
as Self
MovieAndor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
2022
as Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
TVCannes Festival
2022
as Self - Guest
TVClint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
2021
as Self
MovieRespect
2021
as C. L. Franklin
TVBy Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
2020
as Self
MovieJingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
as Jeronicus Jangle
MovieNations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
2020
as Self
MovieChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self
TVGodfather of Harlem
2019
as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
MovieFinding Steve McQueen
2019
as Howard Lambert
MovieCity of Lies
2018
as Jack Jackson
MovieBurden
2018
as Reverend Kennedy
MovieHow It Ends
2018
as Tom
MovieSorry to Bother You
2018
as First Equisapien / Demarius
MovieTriumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
2018
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Forgiven
2018
as Desmond Tutu
MovieBlack Panther
2018
as Zuri
TVSteve
2017
as Self
MovieThe Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
2017
as Self
MovieXenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
2017
as Self
MovieRogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Saw Gerrera
I Am You
2016
as Narrator (voice)
MovieArrival
2016
as Colonel Weber
TVStar Wars: Go Rogue
2016
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
TVRoots
2016
as Fiddler
TVClose Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015
as Self
MovieSouthpaw
2015
as Titus 'Tick' Wills
MovieDope
2015
as The Narrator (voice)
TVEmpire
2015
as Eddie Barker
MovieTaken 3
2014
as Inspector Frank Dotzler
TVStar Wars Rebels
2014
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
MovieTwo Men in Town
2014
as William Garnett
MovieFood Chains
2014
MovieRepentance
2014
as Angel
MovieZulu
2013
as Ali Sokhela
MovieBlack Nativity
2013
as Reverend Cornell Cobbs
MovieMaking a Scene | 11 Performances
2013
MovieOut of the Furnace
2013
as Chief Wesley Barnes
MovieMysteries of the Unseen World
2013
as Narrator
MovieThe Butler
2013
as Cecil Gaines
MovieRising from Ashes
2013
as Narrator
MoviePawn
2013
as Will
MovieThe Last Stand
2013
as Agent John Bannister
MovieA Dark Truth
2012
as Francisco Francis
MovieFreelancers
2012
as Dennis Larue
MovieCatch.44
2011
as Ronny
MovieA Man's Story
2011
as Self
MovieServing Life
2011
as Narrator (voice)
TVCriminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
2011
as Sam Cooper
MovieLullaby for Pi
2010
as George
Movie2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Experiment
2010
as Barris
MovieMy Own Love Song
2010
as Joey
MovieRepo Men
2010
as Jake
MovieOur Family Wedding
2010
as Brad Boyd
MovieHigglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
2010
as Lion
MovieHurricane Season
2010
as Al Collins
MovieWhere the Wild Things Are
2009
as Ira (voice)
MovieCrips and Bloods: Made in America
2009
as Narrator
MovieWinged Creatures
2009
as Charlie Archenault
MoviePowder Blue
2009
as Charlie
MovieStreet Kings
2008
as Captain Jack Wander
MovieVantage Point
2008
as Howard Lewis
MovieThe Great Debaters
2007
as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
MovieRipple Effect
2007
as Philip
MovieEven Money
2007
as Clyde Snow
MovieThe Air I Breathe
2007
as Happiness
MovieBefore the Music Dies
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Last King of Scotland
2006
as Idi Amin
MovieEveryone's Hero
2006
as Lonnie Brewster (voice)
MovieThe Marsh
2006
as Geoffrey Hunt
MovieA Little Trip to Heaven
2005
as Abe Holt
MovieMary
2005
as Ted Younger
MovieOdyssey in Rome
2005
TVCriminal Minds
2005
as Sam Cooper
MovieAmerican Gun
2005
as Carter
MovieJiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005
as Forest Whitaker
MovieDeacons for Defense
2005
as Marcus Clay
TVAmerican Dad!
2005
as Turlington (voice)
TVThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
as Self
The Misbehavers
2004
as Self
MovieFirst Daughter
2004
as Narrator (voice)
MovieShooting 'Panic Room'
2004
as Self
TVThe Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
Making of Phone Booth
2003
as Self
TVJimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self
MoviePhone Booth
2003
as Captain Ramey
TVThe Twilight Zone
2002
as Self - Host
TVAmerican Idol
2002
as Self
MoviePanic Room
2002
as Burnham
TVThe Shield
2002
as Jon Kavanaugh
TVLive from E!
2002
as Self
MovieFeast of All Saints
2001
as Daguerreotypist Picard
MovieThe Fourth Angel
2001
as Agent Jules Bernard
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
2001
MovieThe Follow
2001
as The Employer
MovieGreen Dragon
2001
as Addie
TVThe Hire
2001
as The Employer
MovieA Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001
as Self
MovieClint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000
as Self
MovieFour Dogs Playing Poker
2000
as Mr. Ellington
MovieBattlefield Earth
2000
as Ker
MovieThe Paperboy
2000
as Narrator
MovieWitness Protection
1999
as Steven Beck
MovieLight It Up
1999
as Officer Dante Jackson
TVThe Early Show
1999
as Self
MovieGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999
as Ghost Dog
Where Are They Now?
1999
as Self
MovieBody Count
1998
as Crane
TVThe View
1997
as Self
MovieRebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
as Mr. Rucker
TVThe Daily Show
1996
as Self
MoviePhenomenon
1996
as Nate Pope
MovieMr. Holland's Opus
1995
as Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
MovieSpecies
1995
as Dan Smithson, Empath
MovieSmoke
1995
as Cyrus Cole
MoviePrêt-à-Porter
1994
as Cy Bianco
MovieClint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
1994
as Self
TVER
1994
as Curtis Ames
MovieThe Enemy Within
1994
as Col. MacKenzie Casey
TVInside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self
MovieBlown Away
1994
as Anthony Franklin
MovieJason's Lyric
1994
as Maddog
MovieBank Robber
1993
as Officer Battle
MovieLush Life
1993
as Buddy Chester
MovieLast Light
1993
as Fred Whitmore
MovieBody Snatchers
1993
as Major Collins
MovieConsenting Adults
1992
as David Duttonville
MovieThe Crying Game
1992
as Jody
TVThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
MovieArticle 99
1992
as Dr. Sid Handleman
MovieDiary of a Hitman
1991
as Dekker
MovieA Rage in Harlem
1991
as Jackson
MovieCriminal Justice
1990
as Jessie Williams
MovieDowntown
1990
as Dennis Curren
MovieJohnny Handsome
1989
as Dr. Steven Fisher
TVLIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self
MovieBird
1988
as Charlie 'Bird' Parker
MovieBloodsport
1988
as Rawlins
MovieGood Morning, Vietnam
1987
as Edward Garlick
MovieStakeout
1987
as Det. Jack Pismo
MovieHands of a Stranger
1987
as Sergeant Delaney
MoviePlatoon
1986
as Big Harold
MovieThe Color of Money
1986
as Amos
TVNorth and South
1985
as Cuffey
TVAmazing Stories
1985
as Jerry
MovieVision Quest
1985
as Balldozer
The Grand Baby
1983
MovieFast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
as Charles Jefferson
MovieTag: The Assassination Game
1982
as Gowdy's Bodyguard
TVCagney & Lacey
1982
as Night Manager
TVHill Street Blues
1981
TVDiff'rent Strokes
1978
TVSaturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self - Presenter
TVToday
1952
as Self
Sewing Hope
as Narrator (voice)
