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.
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Would you be willing to walk away from everyone and everything you've ever known in exchange for you...
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A documentary about the making of Oliver Stone's Vietnam War film, Platoon (1986)....
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Hungry for an A-list interview that could launch him into the gossip rag stratosphere, Jiminy Glick,...
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B4MD tells the story of American music at this precarious moment. Filmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel ...
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Gambling addiction bring the stories of three otherwise unconnected people together as it destroys e...
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During an historic counter-terrorism summit in Spain, the President of the United States is struck d...
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With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that h...
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Based on true events amid the wreckage and chaos dealt by Hurricane Katrina; one basketball coach in...
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20 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ...
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SERVING LIFE documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for dying fell...
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Documentary about British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng....
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Mysteries of the Unseen World transports audiences to places on this planet that they have never bee...
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Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Havoc (2025) | Lawrence Beaumont | 6.3 | |
| 2 | Big George Foreman (2023) | Doc Broadus | 8.5 | |
| 3 | Andor: A Disney+ Day Special Look (2022) | Saw Gerrera (archive footage) (uncredited) | 7 | |
| 4 | Respect (2021) | C. L. Franklin | 6 | |
| 5 | Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) | Jeronicus Jangle | 6.5 | |
| 6 | Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020) | Self | 9 | |
| 7 | Finding Steve McQueen (2019) | Howard Lambert | 9 | |
| 8 | Black Panther (2018) Top 100 by FilmGator | Zuri | 7.9 | |
| 9 | City of Lies (2018) | Jack Jackson | 6 | |
| 10 | How It Ends (2018) | Tom | 5.6 | |
| 11 | The Forgiven (2018) | Desmond Tutu | 1 | |
| 12 | Sorry to Bother You (2018) | First Equisapien / Demarius | 7.2 | |
| 13 | Burden (2018) | Reverend Kennedy | - | - |
| 14 | Xenolinguistics: Understanding 'Arrival' (2017) | Self | 7 | |
| 15 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Top 100 by FilmGator | Saw Gerrera | 7.9 | |
| 16 | Arrival (2016) Top 100 by FilmGator | Colonel Weber | 7.9 | |
| 17 | Southpaw (2015) | Titus 'Tick' Wills | 7.2 | |
| 18 | Dope (2015) | The Narrator (voice) | 7.3 | |
| 19 | Repentance (2014) | Angel | - | - |
| 20 | Taken 3 (2014) | Inspector Frank Dotzler | 6 | |
| 21 | Food Chains (2014) | - | 6 | |
| 22 | Two Men in Town (2014) | William Garnett | 7 | |
| 23 | Mysteries of the Unseen World (2013) | Narrator | 7.8 | |
| 24 | Pawn (2013) | Will | 4.1 | |
| 25 | Making a Scene | 11 Performances (2013) | - | 4 | |
| 26 | Zulu (2013) | Ali Sokhela | 6.5 | |
| 27 | Black Nativity (2013) | Reverend Cornell Cobbs | 6.5 | |
| 28 | Out of the Furnace (2013) | Chief Wesley Barnes | 6.1 | |
| 29 | The Butler (2013) | Cecil Gaines | 7 | |
| 30 | The Last Stand (2013) | Agent John Bannister | 6 | |
| 31 | A Dark Truth (2012) | Francisco Francis | 2.5 | |
| 32 | Freelancers (2012) | Dennis Larue | 4.5 | |
| 33 | Serving Life (2011) | Narrator (voice) | 9 | |
| 34 | A Man's Story (2011) | Self | - | - |
| 35 | Catch.44 (2011) | Ronny | 5.5 | |
| 36 | Lullaby for Pi (2010) | George | 8 | |
| 37 | Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life (2010) | Lion | - | - |
| 38 | Hurricane Season (2010) | Al Collins | 5 | |
| 39 | The Experiment (2010) | Barris | 6.1 | |
| 40 | Our Family Wedding (2010) | Brad Boyd | 5.7 | |
| 41 | Repo Men (2010) | Jake | 6.8 | |
| 42 | Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2009) | Narrator | 7.5 | |
| 43 | Powder Blue (2009) | Charlie | 6.1 | |
| 44 | Winged Creatures (2009) | Charlie Archenault | 7 | |
| 45 | Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | Ira (voice) | 6.8 | |
| 46 | Vantage Point (2008) | Howard Lewis | 6.9 | |
| 47 | Street Kings (2008) | Captain Jack Wander | 6.7 | |
| 48 | Even Money (2007) | Clyde Snow | - | - |
| 49 | Ripple Effect (2007) | Philip | 5 | |
| 50 | The Great Debaters (2007) | Dr. James Farmer Sr. | 7.1 | |
| 51 | The Air I Breathe (2007) | Happiness | 6.7 | |
| 52 | Before the Music Dies (2006) | Self - Narrator (voice) | - | - |
| 53 | The Last King of Scotland (2006) Oscars 2007 | Idi Amin | 7.3 | |
| 54 | Everyone's Hero (2006) | Lonnie Brewster (voice) | 6 | |
| 55 | Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2005) | Forest Whitaker | - | - |
| 56 | A Little Trip to Heaven (2005) | Abe Holt | 7.5 | |
| 57 | Mary (2005) | Ted Younger | 6 | |
| 58 | American Gun (2005) | Carter | - | - |
| 59 | First Daughter (2004) | Director / Writer | 6.1 | |
| 60 | Phone Booth (2003) | Captain Ramey | 7 | |
| 61 | Panic Room (2002) | Burnham | 7.1 | |
| 62 | A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon' (2001) | Self | - | - |
| 63 | The Follow (2001) | The Employer | 4 | |
| 64 | Feast of All Saints (2001) | Daguerreotypist Picard | 8 | |
| 65 | Battlefield Earth (2000) | Ker | 4.3 | |
| 66 | Witness Protection (1999) | Steven Beck | - | - |
| 67 | Light It Up (1999) | Officer Dante Jackson | - | - |
| 68 | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) | Ghost Dog | 7.5 | |
| 69 | Hope Floats (1998) | Director / Writer | 7.2 | |
| 70 | Body Count (1998) | Crane | - | - |
| 71 | Phenomenon (1996) | Nate Pope | 6.1 | |
| 72 | Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) | Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited) | 6.2 | |
| 73 | Species (1995) | Dan Smithson, Empath | 5.7 | |
| 74 | Smoke (1995) | Cyrus Cole | 7.9 | |
| 75 | Waiting to Exhale (1995) | Director / Writer | 6 | |
| 76 | Blown Away (1994) | Anthony Franklin | 8.4 | |
| 77 | Prêt-à-Porter (1994) | Cy Bianco | 4.5 | |
| 78 | The Enemy Within (1994) | Col. MacKenzie Casey | 7 | |
| 79 | Jason's Lyric (1994) | Maddog | 10 | |
| 80 | Bank Robber (1993) | Officer Battle | - | - |
| 81 | Last Light (1993) | Fred Whitmore | - | - |
| 82 | Strapped (1993) | Director / Writer | 9 | |
| 83 | Body Snatchers (1993) | Major Collins | 7.3 | |
| 84 | Lush Life (1993) | Buddy Chester | - | - |
| 85 | Consenting Adults (1992) | David Duttonville | 6 | |
| 86 | Article 99 (1992) | Dr. Sid Handleman | - | - |
| 87 | The Crying Game (1992) | Jody | 6.4 | |
| 88 | Diary of a Hitman (1991) | Dekker | - | - |
| 89 | A Rage in Harlem (1991) | Jackson | - | - |
| 90 | Downtown (1990) | Dennis Curren | 10 | |
| 91 | Johnny Handsome (1989) | Dr. Steven Fisher | 5.2 | |
| 92 | Bird (1988) | Charlie 'Bird' Parker | 8.5 | |
| 93 | Bloodsport (1988) | Rawlins | 7.3 | |
| 94 | Stakeout (1987) | Det. Jack Pismo | 7 | |
| 95 | Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) | Edward Garlick | 7.4 | |
| 96 | Hands of a Stranger (1987) | Sergeant Delaney | - | - |
| 97 | Platoon (1986) | Big Harold | 7.9 | |
| 98 | The Color of Money (1986) | Amos | 7.2 | |
| 99 | Vision Quest (1985) | Balldozer | - | - |
| 100 | Tag: The Assassination Game (1982) | Gowdy's Bodyguard | - | - |
| 101 | Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) | Charles Jefferson | 7.4 | |
| 102 | A Fall from Grace | - | - | - |

