Forest Whitaker
Known for Acting · 171 credits
- Born
- 1961-07-15 (age 64)
- Place of birth
- Longview, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Forest Steven Whitaker III · Forest Steven Whitaker · פורסט ויטאקר
Biography
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.
Known For
TV Shows (43)
Criminal Minds
2005
as Sam Cooper
The Daily Show
1996
as Self
American Dad!
2005
as Turlington (voice)
Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host
The Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
as Self
ER
1994
as Curtis Ames
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
as Self
The View
1997
as Self
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
as Self / Self - Guest
The Shield
2002
as Jon Kavanaugh
Hill Street Blues
1981
Empire
2015
as Eddie Barker
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003
as Self
American Idol
2002
as Self
Andor
2022
as Saw Gerrera
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Star Wars Rebels
2014
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
Cagney & Lacey
1982
as Night Manager
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015
as Self
Godfather of Harlem
2019
as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson
Amazing Stories
1985
as Jerry
North and South
1985
as Cuffey
The Twilight Zone
2002
as Self - Host
The Oscars
1953
as Self - Presenter
Steve
2017
as Self
Today
1952
as Self
Where Are They Now?
1999
as Self
Extrapolations
2023
as Auggie Bolo
Live from E!
2002
as Self
Roots
2016
as Fiddler
The Hire
2001
as The Employer
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
2011
as Sam Cooper
Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy
2021
as Self
Hollywood Black
2024
as Self
The Emperor of Ocean Park
2024
as Judge Oliver Garland
The Early Show
1999
as Self
My Generation
2024
as Self - Narrator (voice)
By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem
2020
as Self
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
Inside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self
Cannes Festival
2022
as Self - Guest
Star Wars: Go Rogue
2016
as Saw Gerrera (voice)
Movies (128)
Arrival
2016
as Colonel Weber
Black Panther
2018
as Zuri
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Saw Gerrera
Taken 3
2014
as Inspector Frank Dotzler
Havoc
2025
as Lawrence Beaumont
Southpaw
2015
as Titus 'Tick' Wills
Bloodsport
1988
as Rawlins
Platoon
1986
as Big Harold
Species
1995
as Dan Smithson, Empath
Panic Room
2002
as Burnham
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1982
as Charles Jefferson
Vantage Point
2008
as Howard Lewis
Street Kings
2008
as Captain Jack Wander
The Butler
2013
as Cecil Gaines
Phenomenon
1996
as Nate Pope
Repo Men
2010
as Jake
Phone Booth
2003
as Captain Ramey
Big George Foreman
2023
as Doc Broadus
The King of Kings
2025
as Peter (voice)
Sorry to Bother You
2018
as First Equisapien / Demarius
First Daughter
2004
as Narrator (voice)
Blown Away
1994
as Anthony Franklin
The Last Stand
2013
as Agent John Bannister
Where the Wild Things Are
2009
as Ira (voice)
Winged Creatures
2009
as Charlie Archenault
Body Snatchers
1993
as Major Collins
The Experiment
2010
as Barris
Out of the Furnace
2013
as Chief Wesley Barnes
How It Ends
2018
as Tom
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
1999
as Ghost Dog
Powder Blue
2009
as Charlie
The Last King of Scotland
2006
as Idi Amin
Consenting Adults
1992
as David Duttonville
The Color of Money
1986
as Amos
The Great Debaters
2007
as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Dope
2015
as The Narrator (voice)
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987
as Edward Garlick
Catch.44
2011
as Ronny
The Crying Game
1992
as Jody
Smoke
1995
as Cyrus Cole
American Gun
2005
as Carter
Battlefield Earth
2000
as Ker
Zulu
2013
as Ali Sokhela
Mr. Holland's Opus
1995
as Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Respect
2021
as C. L. Franklin
Freelancers
2012
as Dennis Larue
City of Lies
2018
as Jack Jackson
Bird
1988
as Charlie 'Bird' Parker
Johnny Handsome
1989
as Dr. Steven Fisher
Article 99
1992
as Dr. Sid Handleman
Prêt-à-Porter
1994
as Cy Bianco
The Air I Breathe
2007
as Happiness
Everyone's Hero
2006
as Lonnie Brewster (voice)
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
as Jeronicus Jangle
Vision Quest
1985
as Balldozer
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'
2017
as Self
A Dark Truth
2012
as Francisco Francis
Pawn
2013
as Will
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
2022
as Self (archive footage)
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look
2022
as Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hurricane Season
2010
as Al Collins
Our Family Wedding
2010
as Brad Boyd
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
as (archive footage)
A Rage in Harlem
1991
as Jackson
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso
1994
as Self
Even Money
2007
as Clyde Snow
Ripple Effect
2007
as Philip
Stakeout
1987
as Det. Jack Pismo
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
as Mr. Rucker
The Forgiven
2018
as Desmond Tutu
Last Light
1993
as Fred Whitmore
Feast of All Saints
2001
as Daguerreotypist Picard
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005
as Forest Whitaker
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self
Finding Steve McQueen
2019
as Howard Lambert
Black Nativity
2013
as Reverend Cornell Cobbs
Body Count
1998
as Crane
Two Men in Town
2014
as William Garnett
My Own Love Song
2010
as Joey
Mary
2005
as Ted Younger
The Follow
2001
as The Employer
Hands of a Stranger
1987
as Sergeant Delaney
The Enemy Within
1994
as Col. MacKenzie Casey
Downtown
1990
as Dennis Curren
A Little Trip to Heaven
2005
as Abe Holt
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows
2000
as Self
A Man's Story
2011
as Self
Witness Protection
1999
as Steven Beck
Jason's Lyric
1994
as Maddog
Bank Robber
1993
as Officer Battle
Deacons for Defense
2005
as Marcus Clay
Lush Life
1993
as Buddy Chester
Repentance
2014
as Angel
Diary of a Hitman
1991
as Dekker
Light It Up
1999
as Officer Dante Jackson
Burden
2018
as Reverend Kennedy
Crips and Bloods: Made in America
2009
as Narrator
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times
2020
as Self
Lullaby for Pi
2010
as George
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001
as Self
Green Dragon
2001
as Addie
Odyssey in Rome
2005
The Fourth Angel
2001
as Agent Jules Bernard
Four Dogs Playing Poker
2000
as Mr. Ellington
Serving Life
2011
as Narrator (voice)
The Marsh
2006
as Geoffrey Hunt
Criminal Justice
1990
as Jessie Williams
A Fall from Grace
Shooting 'Panic Room'
2004
as Self
Rose's Baby
2027
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
2010
as Lion
Tag: The Assassination Game
1982
as Gowdy's Bodyguard
Prophets of Change
2022
as Narrator
The Misbehavers
2004
as Self
Before the Music Dies
2006
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
2001
The Grand Baby
1983
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'
2017
as Self
Making a Scene | 11 Performances
2013
Rising from Ashes
2013
as Narrator
About 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 Sam… With 171 credits spanning from 1952 to 2027, Forest Whitaker has appeared in 128 films and 43 TV shows.
Fans searching for Forest Whitaker movies, Forest Whitaker filmography, or the latest projects starring Forest Whitaker can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Forest Whitaker Movies
- Arrival (2016) — as Colonel Weber
- Black Panther (2018) — as Zuri
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — as Saw Gerrera
- Taken 3 (2014) — as Inspector Frank Dotzler
- Havoc (2025) — as Lawrence Beaumont
Where to Watch Forest Whitaker Films
Most Forest Whitaker movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Forest Whitaker, check our movies catalogue and browse page.