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.
126 movies · 43 shows
Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo
2026·8.8
Havoc
2025·6.4
The King of Kings
2025·8.3
Seaweed Stories
2024·0.0
Big George Foreman
2023·7.6
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022·7.3
Prophets of Change
2022·0.0
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
2022·7.4
Respect
2021·6.8
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020·6.5
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
2020·10.0
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020·8.1
Finding Steve McQueen
2019·6.1
City of Lies
2018·6.4
Burden
2018·6.1
How It Ends
2018·5.3
Sorry to Bother You
2018·6.8
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace
2018·4.0
The Forgiven
2018·6.1
Black Panther
2018·7.4
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
2017·6.1
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
2017·7.0
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016·7.5
I Am You
2016·3.5
Arrival
2016·7.6
Southpaw
2015·7.4
Dope
2015·7.0
Taken 3
2014·6.3
Two Men in Town
2014·5.5
Food Chains
2014·7.0
Repentance
2014·4.8
Zulu
2013·6.7
Black Nativity
2013·5.2
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
2013·0.0
Out of the Furnace
2013·6.6
Mysteries of the Unseen World
2013·7.2
The Butler
2013·7.3
Rising from Ashes
2013·6.5
Pawn
2013·5.6
The Last Stand
2013·6.1
A Dark Truth
2012·5.5
Freelancers
2012·5.1
Catch.44
2011·5.0
A Man's Story
2011·6.9
Serving Life
2011·5.3
Lullaby for Pi
2010·6.8
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010·6.1
The Experiment
2010·6.4
My Own Love Song
2010·6.2
Repo Men
2010·6.3
Our Family Wedding
2010·5.6
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
2010·7.1
Hurricane Season
2010·6.6
Where the Wild Things Are
2009·6.5
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
2009·6.7
Winged Creatures
2009·5.9
Powder Blue
2009·6.1
Street Kings
2008·6.7
Vantage Point
2008·6.4
The Great Debaters
2007·7.3
Ripple Effect
2007·5.4
Even Money
2007·5.5
The Air I Breathe
2007·6.3
Before the Music Dies
2006·7.0
The Last King of Scotland
2006·7.4
Everyone's Hero
2006·6.1
The Marsh
2006·5.1
A Little Trip to Heaven
2005·5.4
Mary
2005·5.7
Odyssey in Rome
2005·7.0
American Gun
2005·5.7
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005·4.3
Deacons for Defense
2005·6.4
The Misbehavers
2004·10.0
First Daughter
2004·6.2
Shooting 'Panic Room'
2004·7.0
Making of Phone Booth
2003·8.0
Phone Booth
2003·6.9
Panic Room
2002·6.8
Feast of All Saints
2001·4.8
The Fourth Angel
2001·5.3
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
2001·2.0
The Follow
2001·6.9
Green Dragon
2001·6.2
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001·8.5
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000·7.3
Four Dogs Playing Poker
2000·4.0
Battlefield Earth
2000·3.3
The Paperboy
2000·8.0
Witness Protection
1999·6.3
Light It Up
1999·6.7
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999·7.3
Body Count
1998·5.5
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996·7.1
Phenomenon
1996·6.5
Mr. Holland's Opus
1995·7.0
Species
1995·6.0
Smoke
1995·7.2
Prêt-à-Porter
1994·5.2
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
1994·7.4
The Enemy Within
1994·5.8
Blown Away
1994·6.2
Jason's Lyric
1994·6.8
Bank Robber
1993·4.4
Lush Life
1993·7.2
Last Light
1993·6.0
Body Snatchers
1993·6.2
Consenting Adults
1992·5.4
The Crying Game
1992·6.8
Article 99
1992·6.2
Diary of a Hitman
1991·5.4
A Rage in Harlem
1991·5.4
Criminal Justice
1990·6.0
Downtown
1990·5.7
Johnny Handsome
1989·6.4
Bird
1988·6.9
Bloodsport
1988·7.1
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987·7.3
Stakeout
1987·6.5
Hands of a Stranger
1987·4.9
Platoon
1986·7.8
The Color of Money
1986·6.8
Vision Quest
1985·6.4
The Grand Baby
1983·5.5
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982·6.8
Tag: The Assassination Game
1982·5.4