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Biography · Film & Television

Forest Whitaker

1961–

United States

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Biography

Forest Steven Whitaker III (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Honorary Palme d'Or. 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).

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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