It’s Denzel Washington’s birthday on Friday.
In honor of the 64-year-old icon’s day, we took a look back at his extensive movie career covering four decades and picked out some of his greatest movies of all time.
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, the “Training Day” actor got his first big break in the business in 1981 when he landed a movie role in a film called “Carbon Copy” alongside George Segal. (RELATED: WATCH DENZEL WASHINGTON IN THE INTENSE TRAILER FOR ‘THE EQUALIZER 2’)
Actor Denzel Washington arrives at the 89th Oscars Nominee Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
The part gave him great exposure and he would soon get parts on the big and small screen for the next few years. Then in 1989 his career really took off after landing the part as the runaway slave in the masterful historical war drama “Glory” directed by Edward Zwick, alongside such greats as Matthew Broderick and Morgan Freeman. For his part, he won Best Supporting Actor and the rest, as they say, is history. (RELATED: Celebrate Anna Kendrick’s Birthday With Her Hottest Looks [SLIDESHOW])
Some of our favorite movies of his would have to include his part as inspirational football coach Herman Boone in Disney’s “Remember the Titans” in 2000, a former assassin driven to rescue a kidnapped girl in the epic “Man on Fire” in 2004, the futuristic sci-fi thriller “Déjà Vu” in 2006 with Paula Patton and his role as a man who walks an apocalyptic earth in the 2010 film “The Book Of Eli” with Mila Kunis. (RELATED: Check Out The Hottest Looks From The 60th Grammy Awards [SLIDESHOW]
Check out some of these unforgettable scenes.
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And we would be remiss not to mention his part in the remake of the 1960 western classic “The Magnificent Seven” in 20016 with the all-star cast alongside Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio, just to name a few. (RELATED: WATCH DENZEL WASHINGTON IN THE NEW ACTION-PACKED TRAILER FOR ‘THE EQUALIZER 2’)
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His recent action adventure “Equalizer 2,” the follow-up to his 2014 hit “Equalizer” based off the TV series of the same name, proved to be another hit at the books office.
Here’s to another year as great as his last ones. Happy Birthday, Denzel!