Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington is the second African American actor in history to win an Academy Award for Best Actor (Training Day). Beginning his career on the stage, the Mount Vernon, New York native landed his first big role on the 1980s TV series St. Elsewhere. He won his first Oscar in 1989 for a supporting role in the historical drama Glory, and starred in a series of Spike Lee films, including Mo Better Blues, He Got Game and the Malcolm X biopic X. Washington has impressed both critics and fans alike in memorable films like Philadelphia, The Hurricane, and American Gangster. In 2002 he tried his hand at directing with Antwone Fisher, the true story of an abused foster child. And in 2010, Denzel returned to Broadway to appear in the August Wilson play, "Fences," opposite Viola Davis. Both actors took home Tony Awards for their roles. In 2013, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film Flight. Having been a member himself, Washington serves as spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.