Whitaker, Forest

Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Honorary Palme d'Or. 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 The Color of Money (1986), Panic Room (2002), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Black Panther (2018) as Zuri. Whitaker starred in the Star Wars franchise as Saw Gerrera, appearing in the film Rogue One (2016) and would later reprise the role in the television series Star Wars: Rebels (2017) and Andor (2022–2025), as well as the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019). Whitaker won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). 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). On television, he portrayed Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the fifth and sixth seasons of The Shield (2006–2007) and since 2019, he has starred as Bumpy Johnson in the Epix crime drama series Godfather of Harlem. He made his Broadway debut in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's Hughie (2016). Apart from his acting 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 is the CEO of Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), a non-profit outreach program.