Forest Whitaker

American actor and director

Also known as: Forest Steven Whitaker

Written by Pat Bauer

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 24, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

In full:: Forest Steven Whitaker

Born:: July 15, 1961, Longview, Texas, U.S. (age 63)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (2007); Academy Award (2007): Actor in a Leading Role; Emmy Award (2003): Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Golden Globe Award (2007): Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Notable Works:: “First Daughter”; “Hope Floats”; “Waiting to Exhale”

Married To:: Keisha Whitaker (1996–present)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "Blown Away" (1994); "The Color of Money" (1986); "The Shield" (2006–2007); "Out of the Furnace" (2013); "The Marsh" (2006); "Jason's Lyric" (1994); "Light It Up" (1999); "Star Wars Rebels" (2017); "Where the Wild Things Are" (2009); "Hill Street Blues" (1984); "Godfather of Harlem" (2019); "Bloodsport" (1988); "Lullaby for Pi" (2010); "Making the Grade" (1982); "Downtown" (1990); "Stakeout" (1987); "A Rage in Harlem" (1991); "Species" (1995); "The Great Debaters" (2007); "Bank Robber" (1993); "American Dad!" (2007–2009); "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" (1999); "Four Dogs Playing Poker" (2000); "Our Family Wedding" (2010); "Jiminy Glick in Lalawood" (2004); "Even Money" (2006); "Street Kings" (2008); "Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior" (2011); "Diff'rent Strokes" (1985); "A Little Trip to Heaven" (2005); "Freelancers" (2012); "Two Men in Town" (2014); "Roots" (2016); "The Forgiven" (2017); "My Own Love Song" (2010); "Burden" (2018); "Zulu" (2013); "Criminal Minds" (2010); "Empire" (2017–2018); "Repo Men" (2010); "Trapper John, M.D." (1984); "Mary" (2005); "Powder Blue" (2009); "The Fall Guy" (1985); "Winged Creatures" (2008); "The Last King of Scotland" (2006); "Green Dragon" (2001); "Toys in the Attic" (2009); "Chasseurs de dragons" (2008); "ER" (2006–2007); "Ripple Effect" (2007); "Ready to Wear" (1994); "How It Ends" (2018); "American Gun" (2005); "The Butler" (2013); "Consenting Adults" (1992); "Tag: The Assassination Game" (1982); "Black Panther" (2018); "Repentance" (2013); "A Dark Truth" (2012); "Amazing Stories" (1986); "Phenomenon" (1996); "Body Snatchers" (1993); "The Experiment" (2010); "Panic Room" (2002); "The Last Stand" (2013); "Platoon" (1986); "Catch .44" (2011); "North and South" (1985); "North and South, Book II" (1986); "The Crying Game" (1992); "Vision Quest" (1985); "The Air I Breathe" (2007); "Cagney & Lacey" (1983); "The Fourth Angel" (2001); "Body Count" (1998); "The Twilight Zone" (2002); "Everyone's Hero" (2006); "Phone Booth" (2002); "City of Lies" (2018); "Battlefield Earth" (2000); "Arrival" (2016); "Bird" (1988); "First Daughter" (2004); "Johnny Handsome" (1989); "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982); "Dope" (2015); "Article 99" (1992); "Ernest et Célestine" (2012); "Finding Steve McQueen" (2019); "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016); "Hurricane Season" (2009); "Vantage Point" (2008); "Sorry to Bother You" (2018); "Black Nativity" (2013); "Southpaw" (2015); "Taken 3" (2014); "Smoke" (1995); "Pawn" (2013); "Diary of a Hitman" (1991); "Good Morning, Vietnam" (1987)

Forest Whitaker (born July 15, 1961, Longview, Texas, U.S.) is an American actor and director who is known for his riveting and deeply nuanced portrayals of a wide variety of characters in movies and on television, whether he is in a leading role or playing a minor character.

Whitaker grew up in Los Angeles. He played football in high school and attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, on a football scholarship. He later transferred to the University of Southern California, where he studied music and acting. Whitaker first gained wide notice in a small part in the hit teen comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He spent the next several years making guest appearances on TV shows, including Cagney & Lacey and Hill Street Blues, before playing a pool shark who demolishes Fast Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) in Martin Scorsese’s film The Color of Money (1986) in what film critic Pauline Kael described as a “brief, startling performance.” Whitaker also portrayed the soldier Big Harold in Oliver Stone’s harrowing Vietnam War movie Platoon (1986), and he appeared with Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987).

In 1988 Whitaker won the award for best actor at the Cannes film festival for his starring role as jazz great Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s biopic Bird. His other notable roles included the captured British soldier who persuades his Irish Republican Army captor to look after his enigmatic girlfriend Dil in The Crying Game (1992), a gay fashion designer in Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-Porter (Ready to Wear; 1994), the best friend of the protagonist (played by John Travolta) in Phenomenon (1996), and the unsettling title hit man in Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

Britannica Quiz

Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

In the 21st century Whitaker played a police captain in the thriller Phone Booth (2002). He won an Academy Award for best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of the charismatic and brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006). Whitaker was nominated for an Emmy Award for his extended guest role in 2006 as a stroke patient on the TV medical drama series ER. He also was a cast member (2006–07) on the show The Shield and starred in the short-lived series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011). Whitaker was praised for his portrayal of White House butler Cecil Gaines in the film Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013), and he later played Colonel Weber in the science fiction movie Arrival (2016), as well as the rebel militant Saw Gerrera in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). He later had a recurring role (2017–18) in the TV series Empire, and in 2018 he appeared in the movies Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You, and Burden. He then took a starring role in the TV series Godfather of Harlem (2019– ), portraying 1960s crime boss Bumpy Johnson. In 2021 Whitaker was cast as the father of legendary soul singer Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect.

Whitaker also began working as a director in the 1990s. His credits included Waiting to Exhale (1995), based on the 1992 novel by Terry McMillan; Hope Floats (1998); and First Daughter (2004). In addition, he played Erie in a brief 2016 Broadway revival of the short Eugene O’Neill play Hughie.

Patricia Bauer The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica