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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Forest Whitaker, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acted in
The King of Kings
2025
as Peter (voice)
Emperor of Ocean Park
2024
as Oliver Garland
to Crinkle their Wrist, Perfumed Splendour
2023
as Ghost Dog (archive footage)
Big George Foreman
2023
as Doc Broadus
Extrapolations
2023
as Auggie Bolo
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Prophets of Change
2022
as Narrator
Star Wars: Andor
2022
as Saw Gerrera
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
2022
as Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
2021
as Self
Respect
2021
as C. L. Franklin
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
as Jeronicus Jangle
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
2020
as Self
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self
Burden
2020
as Reverend Kennedy
Godfather of Harlem
2019
as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
Finding Steve McQueen
2019
as Howard Lambert
City of Lies
2018
as Jack Jackson
How It Ends
2018
as Tom
Sorry to Bother You
2018
as First Equisapien / Demarius
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
2018
as Narrator (voice)
The Forgiven
2018
as Desmond Tutu
Black Panther
2018
as Zuri
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
2017
as Self
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
2017
as Self
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Saw Gerrera
I Am You
2016
as Narrator (voice)
Arrival
2016
as Colonel Weber
Star Wars: Go Rogue
2016
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
Roots
2016
as Fiddler
Dope
2015
as The Narrator (voice)
Southpaw
2015
as Titus 'Tick' Wills
Empire
2015
as Eddie Barker
Taken 3
2014
as Inspector Frank Dotzler
Star Wars Rebels
2014
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
Two Men in Town
2014
as William Garnett
Food Chains
2014
Repentance
2014
as Angel
Zulu
2013
as Ali Sokhela
Black Nativity
2013
as Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Making a Scene
2013
as Man
The Making of 'Making a Scene'
2013
as Self
Out of the Furnace
2013
as Chief Wesley Barnes
Mysteries of the Unseen World
2013
as Narrator
The Butler
2013
as Cecil Gaines
Rising from Ashes
2013
as Narrator
Pawn
2013
as Will
The Last Stand
2013
as Agent John Bannister
A Dark Truth
2012
as Francisco Francis
Freelancers
2012
as Dennis Larue
Catch.44
2011
as Ronny
A Man's Story
2011
as Self
Serving Life
2011
as Narrator (voice)
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
2011
as Sam Cooper
Lullaby for Pi
2010
as George
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
as archival footage
The Experiment
2010
as Barris
My Own Love Song
2010
as Joey
Repo Men
2010
as Jake
Our Family Wedding
2010
as Brad Boyd
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
2010
as Lion
Hurricane Season
2009
as Al Collins
Where the Wild Things Are
2009
as Ira (voice)
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
2009
as Narrator
Winged Creatures
2009
as Charlie Archenault
Powder Blue
2009
as Charlie
Street Kings
2008
as Captain Jack Wander
Dragon Hunters
2008
as Lian-Chu (voice)
Mon Clown
2008
as Self (archive footage)
Vantage Point
2008
as Howard Lewis
The Great Debaters
2007
as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Ripple Effect
2007
as Philip
Even Money
2007
as Clyde Snow
The Air I Breathe
2007
as Happiness
Before the Music Dies
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Everyone's Hero
2006
as Lonnie Brewster (voice)
The Marsh
2006
as Geoffrey Hunt
The Last King of Scotland
2006
as Idi Amin
A Little Trip to Heaven
2005
as Abe Holt
Mary
2005
as Ted Younger
Odyssey in Rome
2005
Criminal Minds
2005
as Sam Cooper
American Gun
2005
as Carter
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005
as Forest Whitaker
American Dad!
2005
as Turlington (voice)
The Misbehavers
2004
as Self
First Daughter
2004
as Narrator (voice)
Shooting 'Panic Room'
2004
as Self
Phone Booth
2003
as Captain Ramey
Deacons for Defense
2003
as Marcus Clay
The Twilight Zone
2002
as Self - Host
American Idol
2002
as Self
Panic Room
2002
as Burnham
The Shield
2002
as Jon Kavanaugh
Feast of All Saints
2001
as Daguerreotypist Picard
The Fourth Angel
2001
as Agent Jules Bernard
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
2001
The Follow
2001
as The Employer
Green Dragon
2001
as Addie
The Hire
2001
as The Employer
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001
as Self
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000
as Self
Battlefield Earth
2000
as Ker
The Paperboy
2000
as Narrator
Witness Protection
1999
as Steven Beck
Light It Up
1999
as Officer Dante Jackson
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999
as Ghost Dog
Where Are They Now?
1999
as Self
Body Count
1998
as Crane
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
as Mr. Rucker
Phenomenon
1996
as Nate Pope
Mr. Holland's Opus
1995
as Bobby Tidd - Adult (uncredited)
Species
1995
as Dan Smithson, Empath
Smoke
1995
as Cyrus Cole
Prêt-à-Porter
1994
as Cy Bianco
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
1994
as Self
Jason's Lyric
1994
as Maddog
ER
1994
as Curtis Ames
The Enemy Within
1994
as Col. MacKenzie Casey
Blown Away
1994
as Anthony Franklin
Bank Robber
1993
as Officer Battle
Lush Life
1993
as Buddy Chester
Last Light
1993
as Fred Whitmore
Body Snatchers
1993
as Major Collins
Consenting Adults
1992
as David Duttonville
The Crying Game
1992
as Jody
Article 99
1992
as Dr. Sid Handleman
Diary of a Hitman
1991
as Dekker
A Rage in Harlem
1991
as Jackson
Criminal Justice
1990
as Jessie Williams
Downtown
1990
as Dennis Curren
Johnny Handsome
1989
as Dr. Steven Fisher
Bird
1988
as Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Bloodsport
1988
as Rawlins
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987
as Edward Garlick
Stakeout
1987
as Det. Jack Pismo
Hands of a Stranger
1987
as Sergeant Delaney
Platoon
1986
as Big Harold
The Color of Money
1986
as Amos
North and South
1985
as Cuffey
Amazing Stories
1985
as Jerry
Vision Quest
1985
as Balldozer
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
as Charles Jefferson
Tag: The Assassination Game
1982
as Gowdy's Bodyguard
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Hill Street Blues
1981
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
The Oscars
1953
as Self - Presenter
Making of Phone Booth
as Self
Sewing Hope
as Narrator (voice)
