Forest Whitaker

ProducerActorDirectorProductionCrew Jul 15 (age 64) Longview, Texas, USA 1975–2026 (51 year career)

6.4 avg rating

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)…

Known For

Film

Arrival

Colonel Weber

Film

Black Panther

Zuri

Film

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Saw Gerrera

Film

Platoon

Big Harold

Film

Southpaw

Titus 'Tick' Wills

Film

The Butler

Cecil Gaines

Film

Panic Room

Burnham

Film

Good Morning, Vietnam

Edward Garlick

Filmography

Acting (170)

Movies (129)

Havoc

as Lawrence Beaumont

The King of Kings

as Peter (voice)

Seaweed Stories

as Narrator (voice)

Big George Foreman

2023

as Doc Broadus

7.6

to Crinkle their Wrist, Perfumed Splendour

2023

as Ghost Dog (archive footage)

Prophets of Change

2022

as Narrator

Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend

2022

as Self (archive footage)

7.2

Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look

2022

as Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited)

7.3

Respect

2021

as C. L. Franklin

6.8

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

2020

as Jeronicus Jangle

6.6

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

2020

as Self

8.1

Nations United: Urgent Solutions for Urgent Times

2020

as Self

10.0

Finding Steve McQueen

as Howard Lambert

Black Panther

as Zuri

Sorry to Bother You

as First Equisapien / Demarius

How It Ends

as Tom

City of Lies

as Jack Jackson

The Forgiven

as Desmond Tutu

Burden

as Reverend Kennedy

Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace

2018

as Narrator (voice)

4.0

The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'

2017

as Self

5.6

Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival'

as Self

Arrival

as Colonel Weber

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

as Saw Gerrera

I Am You

as Narrator (voice)

Southpaw

as Titus 'Tick' Wills

7.4

Dope

2015

as The Narrator (voice)

7.1

Taken 3

2014

as Inspector Frank Dotzler

Repentance

as Angel

Food Chains

Two Men in Town

as William Garnett

Rising from Ashes

as Narrator

The Last Stand

as Agent John Bannister

6.1

The Butler

2013

as Cecil Gaines

7.3

Mysteries of the Unseen World

2013

as Narrator

7.2

Out of the Furnace

2013

as Chief Wesley Barnes

Pawn

as Will

Zulu

as Ali Sokhela

Black Nativity

as Reverend Cornell Cobbs

5.1

Making a Scene | 11 Performances

Freelancers

as Dennis Larue

A Dark Truth

as Francisco Francis

A Man's Story

as Self

Catch.44

as Ronny

Serving Life

as Narrator (voice)

Witness Protection

as Steven Beck

The Experiment

as Barris

Repo Men

as Jake

My Own Love Song

as Joey

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift

as (archive footage)

Hurricane Season

as Al Collins

Our Family Wedding

as Brad Boyd

Lullaby for Pi

as George

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life

2010

as Lion

7.1

Where the Wild Things Are

as Ira (voice)

Powder Blue

as Charlie

Winged Creatures

as Charlie Archenault

5.9

Crips and Bloods: Made in America

2009

as Narrator

6.6

Street Kings

2008

as Captain Jack Wander

Vantage Point

as Howard Lewis

The Great Debaters

as Dr. James Farmer Sr.

Ripple Effect

as Philip

Even Money

as Clyde Snow

The Air I Breathe

as Happiness

The Last King of Scotland

2006

as Idi Amin

7.4

Everyone's Hero

2006

as Lonnie Brewster (voice)

6.0

Before the Music Dies

2006

as Self - Narrator (voice)

The Marsh

as Geoffrey Hunt

Mary

as Ted Younger

American Gun

as Carter

Jiminy Glick in Lalawood

as Forest Whitaker

Deacons for Defense

as Marcus Clay

A Little Trip to Heaven

as Abe Holt

Odyssey in Rome

First Daughter

as Narrator (voice)

Shooting 'Panic Room'

2004

as Self

6.8

The Misbehavers

2004

as Self

Phone Booth

2003

as Captain Ramey

6.9

Making of Phone Booth

as Self

Panic Room

as Burnham

Green Dragon

as Addie

Feast of All Saints

as Daguerreotypist Picard

4.4

The Fourth Angel

2001

as Agent Jules Bernard

5.2

The Follow

2001

as The Employer

6.8

A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'

2001

as Self

8.5

Ghost Dog: The Odyssey: The Journey Into the Life of a Samurai

Battlefield Earth

as Ker

The Paperboy

as Narrator

Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows

2000

as Self

7.1

Four Dogs Playing Poker

2000

as Mr. Ellington

3.5

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

1999

as Ghost Dog

7.3

Light It Up

1999

as Officer Dante Jackson

Body Count

as Crane

Phenomenon

as Nate Pope

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

1996

as Mr. Rucker

7.1

Species

1995

as Dan Smithson, Empath

6.0

Mr. Holland's Opus

1995

as Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)

Smoke

as Cyrus Cole

Blown Away

as Anthony Franklin

Prêt-à-Porter

as Cy Bianco

Jason's Lyric

as Maddog

The Enemy Within

as Col. MacKenzie Casey

5.7

Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso

as Self

Body Snatchers

as Major Collins

Lush Life

as Buddy Chester

Last Light

as Fred Whitmore

Bank Robber

as Officer Battle

The Crying Game

as Jody

Consenting Adults

as David Duttonville

Article 99

as Dr. Sid Handleman

Diary of a Hitman

as Dekker

A Rage in Harlem

as Jackson

Downtown

as Dennis Curren

Criminal Justice

as Jessie Williams

Johnny Handsome

as Dr. Steven Fisher

Bloodsport

as Rawlins

Bird

as Charlie 'Bird' Parker

6.8

Good Morning, Vietnam

as Edward Garlick

Stakeout

as Det. Jack Pismo

Hands of a Stranger

as Sergeant Delaney

Platoon

as Big Harold

The Color of Money

as Amos

Vision Quest

as Balldozer

The Grand Baby

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

1982

as Charles Jefferson

6.8

Tag: The Assassination Game

1982

as Gowdy's Bodyguard

5.3

Sewing Hope

as Narrator (voice)

A Fall from Grace

Rose's Baby

Television (41)

Emperor of Ocean Park

as Oliver Garland

My Generation

as Narrator

Extrapolations

as Auggie Bolo

Andor

as Saw Gerrera

The Jennifer Hudson Show

2022

as Self

5.6

Cannes Festival

2022

as Self - Guest

Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy

2021

as Self

7.0

By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem

2020

as Self

3.3

Godfather of Harlem

2019

as Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson

Roots

as Fiddler

Star Wars: Go Rogue

as Saw Gerrera (voice)

6.7

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

as Self

Empire

as Eddie Barker

Star Wars Rebels

as Saw Gerrera (voice)

7.7

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior

2011

as Sam Cooper

7.1

American Dad!

2005

as Turlington (voice)

7.0

Criminal Minds

2005

as Sam Cooper

8.3

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

as Self

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

as Self

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

as Self

The Shield

as Jon Kavanaugh

American Idol

as Self

The Twilight Zone

as Self - Host

Live from E!

as Self

The Hire

as The Employer

Where Are They Now?

as Self

The Early Show

as Self

The View

as Self

The Daily Show

as Self

as Curtis Ames

Inside the Actors Studio

1994

as Self

7.5

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

1992

5.4

LIVE with Kelly and Mark

as Self

Amazing Stories

as Jerry

North and South

as Cuffey

Cagney & Lacey

as Night Manager

Hill Street Blues

Diff'rent Strokes

Saturday Night Live

as Self - Host

The Oscars

as Self

Today

as Self

Crew (37)

Movies (32)

Lucky Lu

2026

Executive Producer

4.7

To Live and Die and Live

Producer

Fancy Dance

Executive Producer

Transplant

Producer

For the Sake of Peace

2022

Producer

Passing

2021

Producer

6.3

A Kid from Coney Island

2019

Executive Producer

6.8

Devil's Pie: D'Angelo

Producer

Sorry to Bother You

Producer

Roxanne Roxanne

Producer

Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Producer

Dope

Producer

Rising from Ashes

Executive Producer

Fruitvale Station

Producer

Monte Carlo

Executive Producer

Serving Life

Executive Producer

Powder Blue

Producer

Kassim the Dream

Producer

Ripple Effect

Executive Producer

American Gun

Executive Producer

First Daughter

Director

First Daughter

Executive Producer

Chasing Papi

Producer

Door to Door

Co-Executive Producer

Green Dragon

Executive Producer

Hope Floats

Director

Hope Floats

Executive Music Producer

Waiting to Exhale

Director

Strapped

Director

A Rage in Harlem

Co-Producer

A Little Off Mark

Thanks

Rosetta

Producer

Television (5)

Hollywood Black

2024

Executive Producer

9.0

By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem

Executive Producer

Godfather of Harlem

Executive Producer

Brick City

Executive Producer

Rise of the Empress

Executive Producer