Denzel Dominique Whitaker (born June 15, 1990) is an American actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, he acted in the films '' Training Day'' (2001) and '' The Ant Bully'' (2006) before portraying James Farmer Jr. in '' The Great Debaters'' (2007), earning an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

for his work in the film. His other film work includes ''

My Soul to Take ''My Soul to Take'' is a 2010 American slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven. It is his first film since 1994's '' Wes Craven's New Nightmare'' that he wrote, produced, and directed. The film stars Max Thieriot as Adam "Bug" Hellerm ...

'' (2010), ''

Abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

'' (2011) and ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been ...

'' (2018). On television, Whitaker was a cast member on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's ''

All That ''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...

'' between 2004 to 2005. He has appeared in recurring roles on '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2009) and '' The Purge'' (2019), in addition to guest roles on various series.

Early life

Whitaker was born on June 15, 1990 in Torrance, California, the son of Younalanda and Dale Whitaker. He went to

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is a public high school in Rolling Hills Estates, California, United States. History The school was formed in 1991 when Miraleste High School, Palos Verdes High School, and Rolling Hills High School were merg ...

, but while acting as a teenager he would receive and conduct schoolwork via

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

correspondence. He was named after actor

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

. Whitaker disputed this fact on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'' while promoting the movie '' The Great Debaters,'' only to learn later from his father that, in fact, Washington was his namesake. Washington would later serve as an acting mentor for Whitaker on ''The Great Debaters''.

Career

Whitaker made his acting debut in the 2001 film '' Training Day'' as Dimitri. He was a regular cast member during the tenth and final season of the

sketch-comedy series ''

''. He portrayed James Farmer Jr. in '' The Great Debaters'' (2007). Whitaker's acting in this film was well received, with one reviewer praising his "sweetness and vulnerability" and another describing him as a standout among the younger actors in the film. For his performance as James, Whitaker won the 2008 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, and received a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

nomination. Whitaker played Sheldon in the

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

'' Dadnapped'' (2009). Whitaker was a blind teenager named Jerome in

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...

's ''

'' (2010). In 2011, he performed in two feature films, portraying Gilly in thriller ''

'' and appearing in sports drama ''

Warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have ...

''. Whitaker appeared as Eddie in thriller '' Submerged'' (2016) and was a young Zuri in the 2018 superhero film ''

''. He portrayed Andre, an aspiring musician, in the 2020 film ''

Cut Throat City ''Cut Throat City'' is a 2020 American heist film directed by RZA from a screenplay by Paul Cuschieri. The film stars Shameik Moore, T.I., Demetrius Shipp Jr., Kat Graham, Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, Eiza González and Ethan Hawke. ''Cut ...

'', directed by rapper

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

. His television work includes '' ER'', ''

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and was also ...

'', '' The War at Home'', '' Rizzoli & Isles'' and '' Blue Bloods''. Whitaker also appeared in Werner Herzog's '' Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans''. As a voice actor, Whitaker provided the voice of Albert in '' The Ant Bully'' (2006) and portrayed Kyle in preschool series '' Handy Manny''. In the third season of ''The Boondocks'', Whitaker gave voice to Sgt. Gutte, and on ''Black Dynamite: The Animated Series'' he played Donald the Accountant. He has also worked as an assistant voice director for the 2010 film '' Freaknik: The Musical''. Whitaker has directed films and music videos as well.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Denzel 1990 births Living people 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors Actors from Torrance, California African-American male actors American male television actors American male voice actors American voice directors 21st-century African-American people