Black Panther2018
As Zuri
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Forest Whitaker
Born
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.
Filmography (128)
Arrival2016
As Colonel Weber
TMDb 7.6 / 10
Taken 32014
As Inspector Frank Dotzler
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story2016
As Saw Gerrera
TMDb 7.5 / 10
Platoon1986
As Big Harold
TMDb 7.7 / 10
Southpaw2015
As Titus 'Tick' Wills
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Phenomenon1996
As Nate Pope
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Street Kings2008
As Captain Jack Wander
TMDb 6.7 / 10
Havoc2025
As Lawrence Beaumont
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Last Stand2013
As Agent John Bannister
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Panic Room2002
As Burnham
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Phone Booth2003
As Captain Ramey
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Repo Men2010
As Jake
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Bloodsport1988
As Rawlins
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Species1995
As Dan Smithson, Empath
TMDb 6.0 / 10
The King of Kings2025
As Peter (voice)
TMDb 8.3 / 10
Big George Foreman2023
As Doc Broadus
TMDb 7.6 / 10
Vantage Point2008
As Howard Lewis
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Butler2013
As Cecil Gaines
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai1999
As Ghost Dog
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Where the Wild Things Are2009
As Ira (voice)
TMDb 6.5 / 10
First Daughter2004
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 6.2 / 10
City of Lies2018
As Jack Jackson
TMDb 6.3 / 10
The Color of Money1986
As Amos
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Good Morning, Vietnam1987
As Edward Garlick
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Fast Times at Ridgemont High1982
As Charles Jefferson
TMDb 6.8 / 10
How It Ends2018
As Tom
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Sorry to Bother You2018
As First Equisapien / Demarius
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Body Snatchers1993
As Major Collins
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Everyone's Hero2006
As Lonnie Brewster (voice)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Blown Away1994
As Anthony Franklin
TMDb 6.2 / 10
The Air I Breathe2007
As Happiness
TMDb 6.3 / 10
The Last King of Scotland2006
As Idi Amin
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Out of the Furnace2013
As Chief Wesley Barnes
TMDb 6.6 / 10
The Crying Game1992
As Jody
TMDb 6.8 / 10
The Experiment2010
As Barris
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Dope2015
As The Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Respect2021
As C. L. Franklin
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Battlefield Earth2000
As Ker
TMDb 3.3 / 10
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey2020
As Jeronicus Jangle
TMDb 6.5 / 10
Johnny Handsome1989
As Dr. Steven Fisher
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Great Debaters2007
As Dr. James Farmer Sr.
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Winged Creatures2009
As Charlie Archenault
TMDb 5.9 / 10
Mr. Holland's Opus1995
As Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Prêt-à-Porter1994
As Cy Bianco
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Powder Blue2009
As Charlie
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Vision Quest1985
As Balldozer
TMDb 6.4 / 10
The Forgiven2018
As Desmond Tutu
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Catch.442011
As Ronny
TMDb 5.0 / 10
Zulu2013
As Ali Sokhela
TMDb 6.7 / 10
A Dark Truth2012
As Francisco Francis
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Even Money2007
As Clyde Snow
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Consenting Adults1992
As David Duttonville
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Our Family Wedding2010
As Brad Boyd
TMDb 5.6 / 10
Smoke1995
As Cyrus Cole
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Pawn2013
As Will
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Freelancers2012
As Dennis Larue
TMDb 5.1 / 10
Hurricane Season2010
As Al Collins
TMDb 6.6 / 10
My Own Love Song2010
As Joey
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Article 991992
As Dr. Sid Handleman
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Body Count1998
As Crane
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Diary of a Hitman1991
As Dekker
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Witness Protection1999
As Steven Beck
TMDb 6.3 / 10
Bring Me the Horizon: L.I.V.E. in São Paulo2026
As Self (archive footage)
TMDb 8.8 / 10
Downtown1990
As Dennis Curren
TMDb 5.6 / 10
The Fourth Angel2001
As Agent Jules Bernard
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Jason's Lyric1994
As Maddog
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Mary2005
As Ted Younger
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Stakeout1987
As Det. Jack Pismo
TMDb 6.5 / 10
The Enemy Within1994
As Col. MacKenzie Casey
TMDb 5.8 / 10
Bird1988
As Charlie 'Bird' Parker
TMDb 6.9 / 10
A Little Trip to Heaven2005
As Abe Holt
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Serving Life2011
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 5.3 / 10
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King2020
As Self
TMDb 8.1 / 10
Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look2022
As Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood2005
As Forest Whitaker
TMDb 4.4 / 10
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend2022
As Self (archive footage)
TMDb 7.2 / 10
A Rage in Harlem1991
As Jackson
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Light It Up1999
As Officer Dante Jackson
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Finding Steve McQueen2019
As Howard Lambert
TMDb 6.1 / 10
A Man's Story2011
As Self
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Feast of All Saints2001
As Daguerreotypist Picard
TMDb 4.8 / 10
Bank Robber1993
As Officer Battle
TMDb 4.4 / 10
Repentance2014
As Angel
TMDb 4.7 / 10
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift2010
As (archive footage)
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Two Men in Town2014
As William Garnett
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Food Chains2014
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Marsh2006
As Geoffrey Hunt
TMDb 5.2 / 10
American Gun2005
As Carter
TMDb 5.7 / 10
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault1996
As Mr. Rucker
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Burden2018
As Reverend Kennedy
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Hands of a Stranger1987
As Sergeant Delaney
TMDb 4.9 / 10
The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'2017
As Self
TMDb 6.1 / 10
Up Against It
Up Against It2027
The Follow2001
As The Employer
TMDb 6.9 / 10
Four Dogs Playing Poker2000
As Mr. Ellington
TMDb 4.0 / 10
Green Dragon2001
As Addie
TMDb 6.2 / 10
Before the Music Dies2006
As Self - Narrator (voice)
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Paperboy2000
As Narrator
TMDb 8.0 / 10
Ripple Effect2007
As Philip
TMDb 5.4 / 10
Black Nativity2013
As Reverend Cornell Cobbs
TMDb 5.2 / 10
Lullaby for Pi2010
As George
TMDb 6.8 / 10
Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows2000
As Self
TMDb 7.3 / 10
Criminal Justice1990
As Jessie Williams
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Last Light1993
As Fred Whitmore
TMDb 6.0 / 10
Crips and Bloods: Made in America2009
As Narrator
TMDb 6.6 / 10
Tag: The Assassination Game1982
As Gowdy's Bodyguard
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Shooting 'Panic Room'2004
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Lush Life1993
As Buddy Chester
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Making of Phone Booth
Making of Phone Booth2003
As Self
TMDb 8.0 / 10
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'2001
As Self
TMDb 8.5 / 10
Deacons for Defense2005
As Marcus Clay
TMDb 6.4 / 10
Making a Scene | 11 Performances2013
Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life2010
As Lion
TMDb 7.1 / 10
Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'2017
As Self
TMDb 7.0 / 10
Prophets of Change2022
As Narrator
Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times2020
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
The Grand Baby
The Grand Baby1983
TMDb 5.5 / 10
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai
Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai2001
TMDb 2.0 / 10
Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso1994
As Self
TMDb 7.4 / 10
Mysteries of the Unseen World2013
As Narrator
TMDb 7.2 / 10
Odyssey in Rome2005
TMDb 7.0 / 10
The Misbehavers
The Misbehavers2004
As Self
TMDb 10.0 / 10
Rising from Ashes2013
As Narrator
TMDb 6.5 / 10
I Am You
I Am You2016
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 3.5 / 10
Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace2018
As Narrator (voice)
TMDb 4.0 / 10
Seaweed Stories2024
As Self - Narrator (voice)
Sewing Hope
Sewing HopeRelease date TBA
As Narrator (voice)
Filmography and biography: TMDb