Forest Whitaker is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist.
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Whitaker started his career in early roles in films such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Vision Quest (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) before his leading role in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988). Whitaker continued acting in films such as The Crying Game (1992), Blown Away (1994), Prêt-à-Porter (1994), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), and Panic Room (2002) He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in The Last King of Scotland (2006). He has since acted in The Great Debaters (2007), Vantage Point (2008), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), Arrival (2016), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Forgiven (2017), and Black Panther (2018).
Whitaker made his television debut in the CBS sitcom Making the Grade (1982). He has since had roles as Curtis Ames in the NBC medical drama ER (2006–2007), Lt. Jon Kavanaugh in FX crime drama The Shield (2006–2007), and Sam Cooper in the CBS police drama Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011). Whitaker's recent roles include Eddie Barker in the Fox musical drama series Empire (2017–2018) and Bumpy Johnson in the Epix crime drama Godfather of Harlem (2019–present). He made his Broadway debut in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Hughie (2016).