Denzel Washington will receive the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award at a gala tribute on Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Los Angeles. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute special will return for its seventh year with Turner Broadcasting to air on TNT, followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM).
“Denzel Washington is an American icon,” said Sir Howard Stringer, chair, AFI Board of Trustees. “As an actor, he stands tall as a heroic, stoic embodiment of the best in all of us, and he does so with heart, humanity and one of the brightest smiles to ever light up the screen. Equally formidable as director and producer, he is a creative force to be reckoned with–and one of the most vital, relevant artists working today.”
Actor, director and producer Washington is an iconic leading man whose career spans five decades–an esteemed repertoire ranging from screen to stage, in works defined by his towering presence as heroic everymen, troubling antiheroes and real-life figures with complicated, often controversial histories. His cinematic legacy includes powerhouse, Academy Award®-winning performances in Glory (1989) and Training Day (2001), as well as celebrated roles in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012) and Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017), earning additional nominations for each. Washington has crafted compelling, unforgettable characters in recurring collaborations with master directors past and present, bringing stalwart grit and nuanced complexity to films essential to the American canon, such as Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia (1993), Spike Lee’s Inside Man (2006) and Ridley Scott’s American Gangster (2007)–and to blockbuster, crowd-pleasing fare such as Edward Zwick’s (AFI Class of 1975) Crimson Tide (1995), Tony Scott’s Man On Fire (2004) and Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven (2016). A creative force behind the camera as well, Washington has helmed critically acclaimed films, including Antwone Fisher (2002) and The Great Debaters (2007), in which he also stars. He won a 2010 Tony® for his performance in the play “Fences,” and directed, produced and starred in the 2016 film adaptation that earned him Best Actor and Best Picture Oscar® nominations, as well as AFI Awards recognition.
The son of a Pentecostal minister and a beauty parlor owner, Denzel Washington was born in Mount Vernon, NY, on December 28, 1954. His parents’ professions shaped Washington’s ambition to begin acting, with their natural inclination toward storytelling and oration. After graduating from Fordham University with a BA in Journalism, Washington won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, CA. Soon after leaving ACT, he appeared in off-Broadway productions and television movies before being cast in a starring role in the hit television series St. Elsewhere.
Washington’s filmography also includes Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Mississippi Masala (1991), The Pelican Brief (1993), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Mancurian Candidate (2004), The Equalizer (2014) and The Equalizer 2 (2018).
He is married to actor Pauletta Washington, with whom he has four children: John David Washington, Olivia Washington, Katia Washington and Malcolm Washington, who is an alumnus of the AFI Conservatory, Class of 2016.
Here’s a rundown of past AFI Life Achievement Award recipients
- 1973 John Ford
- 1974 James Cagney
- 1975 Orson Welles
- 1976 William Wyler
- 1977 Bette Davis
- 1978 Henry Fonda
- 1979 Alfred Hitchcock
- 1980 James Stewart
- 1981 Fred Astaire
- 1982 Frank Capra
- 1983 John Huston
- 1984 Lillian Gish
- 1985 Gene Kelly
- 1986 Billy Wilder
- 1987 Barbara Stanwyck
- 1988 Jack Lemmon
- 1989 Gregory Peck
- 1990 David Lean
- 1991 Kirk Douglas
- 1992 Sidney Poitier
- 1993 Elizabeth Taylor
- 1994 Jack Nicholson
- 1995 Steven Spielberg
- 1996 Clint Eastwood
- 1997 Martin Scorsese
- 1998 Robert Wise
- 1999 Dustin Hoffman
- 2000 Harrison Ford
- 2001 Barbra Streisand
- 2002 Tom Hanks
- 2003 Robert De Niro
- 2004 Meryl Streep
- 2005 George Lucas
- 2006 Sean Connery
- 2007 Al Pacino
- 2008 Warren Beatty
- 2009 Michael Douglas
- 2010 Mike Nichols
- 2011 Morgan Freeman
- 2012 Shirley MacLaine
- 2013 Mel Brooks
- 2014 Jane Fonda
- 2015 Steve Martin
- 2016 John Williams
- 2017 Diane Keaton
- 2018 George Clooney
